ForexLive European FX news wrap: Yen firms in aftermath of BOJ decision

Headlines:

• Japanese yen still the only notable mover among major currencies so far today
• BOJ governor Ueda comments on phrasing of needing time to scrutinise market risks
• BOJ governor Ueda: Uncertainties surrounding Japan’s economy, prices remain high
• BOJ governor Ueda: Will pay attention to upside risks to prices from weak yen
• BOJ governor Ueda: It is possible that unforeseen negative effects could emerge with more rate hikes
• What is the distribution of forecasts for the US PCE report?
• Weekly update on interest rate expectations
• ECB’s Lagarde: Inflation goal is in sight
• ECB’s Panetta: Rates need to come down
• Eurozone October preliminary CPI +2.0% vs +1.9% y/y expected
• France October preliminary CPI +1.2% vs +1.1% y/y expected
• Italy October preliminary CPI +0.9% vs +1.0% y/y expected
• Germany September retail sales +1.2% vs -0.5% m/m expected
• Germany September import price index -0.4% vs -0.4% m/m expected
• US October Challenger layoffs 55.60k vs 72.82k prior

Markets:

• JPY leads, CAD lags on the day
• European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.6%
• US 10-year yields up 1.6 bps to 4.280%
• Gold down 0.2% to $2,779.54
• WTI crude up 0.8% to $69.16
• Bitcoin down 0.9% to $72,214

The BOJ was in focus today and while the policy decision in itself wasn’t all too interesting, the yen reaction has been somewhat.

Going into BOJ governor Ueda’s press conference, USD/JPY settled a little lower around 152.80 but quickly took a dive during the event. Ueda did mention that they had previously felt the need to make known to markets that they need time to scrutinise the volatility back in August but says that they don’t have to do so now anymore.

Alongside a bit of a technical air pocket, it quickly sent USD/JPY down to 152.10 before keeping around 152.40-50 levels after. The pair has since recovered a bit more ground to 152.70 now, down just 0.5% on the day.

There wasn’t much else of note happening in the major currencies space, with the dollar largely keeping steadier but more muted against the rest of the field.

And that comes despite equities being pressured, with US futures sagging with big tech on the back foot. S&P 500 futures were down around 0.3% initially but fell off to around 0.8% losses during the session. That is making for a more negative take ahead of the Wall Street open later, with eyes on Amazon’s earnings next after the close today.

Month-end shenanigans may play a role in making it tough to read into the moves today. So, just keep that in mind. That will add to the mix alongside the PCE and jobless claims data from the US later. Not to mention, there’s arguably also some apprehension in market flows ahead of the US election next week.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.