Yen Spikes on Strong Japan Pay Data

The Japanese Yen experienced significant fluctuations in response to strong pay data from Japan. The USD/JPY pair traded over a yen lower on the strongest Japanese pay data since 1997, but then recovered all of its losses.

Nominal cash earnings rose 4.7% in July, exceeding the consensus estimate of 3.9%. This was the fastest growth rate since January 1997 and marked the sixth consecutive month above 3%, the longest such run in 34 years.

The base pay also increased by 4.1%, the quickest since April 1992, while real wages gained 2.4%, a seventh straight month of growth and the best in five years.