Forex News: Yen Slides As BoJ Pause Its Ultra-Loose Monetary

Yen Slides As BoJ Pause Its Ultra-Loose Monetary Policy

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday, after the Bank of Japan decided to end negative rates amid signs that inflation is strengthening.

The Bank of Japan raised its interest rates for the first time in nearly two decades. The BoJ Policy Board, led by Governor Kazuo Ueda, decided in a 7-2 vote to raise the overnight interest rate around 0 to 0.1 percent from minus 0.1 percent.

The central bank also decided to end its yield curve control, or YCC, policy that capped the interest on the 10-year Japanese government bonds, or JGBs, around zero.

Markets had widely expected the BoJ to exit its unorthodox and ultra loose policy measures that were adopted in 2016 to tackle the deeply entrenched deflation.

This was the first hike since 2007 and came after recent data showed inflation picking up. In recent weeks, many BoJ rate-setters commented that the 2 percent inflation goal was in sight.

Meanwhile, traders await the U.S. Fed's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday for clues about the outlook for interest rates.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged after recent inflation readings reduced optimism about a rate cut in June. However, the focus will be on the central bank's accompanying statements and economic projections, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.

The Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank are also scheduled to make their monetary policy announcements later in the week.

In the Asian trading now, the yen fell to 2-week lows of 163.33 against the euro and 191.07 against the pound, from yesterday's closing quotes of 162.14 and 189.82, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 164.00 against the euro and 192.00 against the pound.

The yen dropped to nearly a 2-week low of 169.20 against the Swiss franc, from yesterday's closing value of 167.98. On the downside, the yen may test support near the 172.00 region.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the yen slipped to 2-week lows of 150.25 and 110.89 from Monday's closing quotes of 149.14 and 110.20, respectively. The next possible support level for the yen is seen around 152.00 against the greenback and 112.00 against the loonie.

The yen slipped to 5-day high of 91.09 against the NZ dollar from an early 4-day high of 90.52. The yen may test support near the 93.00 region.

Looking ahead, Switzerland foreign trade data for February and Swiss SECO economic forecasts, Germany's ZEW economic confidence survey results for March and Eurozone labor cost data for the fourth quarter are due to be released in the European session.

In the New York session, Canada CPI data for February, U.S. building permits and housing starts data for February are slated for release.

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