CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese yen strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as traders speculate that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is likely to continue its policy tightening.
Nada Choueiri, who serves as the Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and it's the mission chief for Japan, stated that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is likely to increase interest rates once again this year.
'Japan's economy likely to expand 1.1% this year as continued recovery in wage growth underpins domestic demand.', Nada said.
Traders seemed cautious and reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly U.S. jobs report later in the day for cues on the outlook for interest rates. They also await U.S. President Donald Trump's next move on trade curbs ahead of China's tariff deadline next week.
In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was up 2.3 percent on month in December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - standing at 352,633 yen. That beat forecasts for a decline of 0.5 percent following the 0.4 percent increase in November.
On a yearly basis, household spending advanced 2.7 percent - again topping expectations for a gain of 0.5 percent after slipping 0.4 percent in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 1,179,259 yen, up 2.9 percent on year.
In the Asian trading today, the yen rose to more than a 2-month high of 156.76 against the euro and nearly a 2-month high of 150.96 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 157.00 and 151.17, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 154.00 against the euro and 149.00 against the greenback.
Against the pound and the Swiss franc, the yen advanced to near 5-month highs of 187.66 and 166.78 from Thursday's closing quotes of 187.97 and 167.02, respectively. On the upside, 185.00 against the pound and 165.00 against the franc.
Against the Australia and the Canadian dollars, the yen climbed to 4-day highs of 94.85 and 105.50 from yesterday's closing quotes of 94.96 and 105.67, respectively. The yen may test resistance near 93.00 against the aussie and 103.00 against the loonie.
The yen advanced to a 6-month high of 85.68 against the NZ dollar, from Thursday's closing value of 85.77. The next possible upside target for the yen is seen around the 84.00 region.
Looking ahead, Germany's industrial output and external trade figures for December and U.K. Halifax house price data for January are due to be released in pre-European session.
In the New York session, U.S. and Canada jobs data for January, U.S. University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for February, U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data and U.S. consumer credit change for December are slated for release.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
