Yen will fall on comments of new head BoJ

02/13/2023

1 minute read

2023.02.13 08:33

The Japanese yen has suffered severe losses to begin the week. It is trading at 132.600 in the European session, up 0.90%

After a 0.8% decline in Q3, there are high hopes for the Japanese economy, which is anticipated to expand by 2% in In October, Japan reopened to tourists, triggering a services sector recovery that will likely boost GDP. However, the economy must contend with obstacles such as higher inflation and a weaker global economy, which will likely limit growth in the first quarter of 2023.

There has been a game of guessing who will succeed Haruhiko Kuroda as Governor of the Bank of Japan, and news reports about a possible replacement have caused a significant amount of volatility in the Japanese yen.

As Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya is regarded as a dove, a report that he had been approached for the position the previous week sent the yen briefly lower. The BoJ has decided to appoint Kazua Ueda in a surprise move after Amamiya turned down the offer. The markets saw the decision as a sign of new thinking and a change in policy, so they bought yen at first.

Ueda himself quickly dispelled this perception, stating on Friday that the current policy settings were appropriate. The yen fell sharply on Monday as a result.

It’s possible that Ueda is trying to appear diplomatic in order to avoid making any waves prior to his appointment, and it’s also possible that once he takes over, he will tighten policy. Since the BoJ is expected to maintain its ultra-loose policy in the interim, the yen will not receive assistance from the BoJ at this time.