USDJPY rose as the US dollar recovered on Friday.
USDJPY is retracing its prior session losses, trading around 155.70 in the European session on Friday. However, verbal intervention from Japanese officials is expected to slow the USDJPY pair’s upward trend. Shunichi Suzuki, the Japanese Finance Minister, underlined on Friday that he is willing to take whatever necessary foreign exchange measures.
Japan’s current account surplus was lower than expected, depressing the Japanese yen.
Japan’s current account surplus (YoY) increased to JPY 3,398.8 billion in March. From JPY 2,360.0 billion. This was the 14th straight month of current account surplus, however the rise was less than the predicted JPY 3,489.6 billion. The report showed that capital inflows into Japan were weaker than expected, devaluing the Japanese yen.
The USDJPY pair received support from the US Dollar’s (USD) upward correction. Which was driven by hawkish sentiment surrounding the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision. To keep interest rates higher for an extended length of time.
US first jobless claims increased to an eight-month high of 231K, exceeding expectations of 210K.
However, the Greenback faces resistance from lower US Treasury yields. Which are affected by the lower than expected US Initial Jobless Claims data issued on Thursday. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated. That the number of people claiming for unemployment benefits exceeded expectations, with Initial Jobless Claims for the week. The figure for the week ending May 3 was 231,000, exceeding expectations of 210,000 and up from 209,000 the previous week.
Later in the day, the preliminary US Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for May is anticipated to be released, with estimates predicting a modest dip. This study measures attitude among US consumers in three areas: personal finances, business conditions, and purchasing conditions.
