Week in FX Asia – Japan Indicators Help Yen Drop

The yen continues to devalue to new lows against the US dollar. The catalyst for this week’s slump were the national economic indicators such as Japanese Final GDP, which came in at a disappointing 0.0%, underscoring the lack of growth in the Japanese economy. This week was heavy with central bank statements and rate announcements but few surprises. All major economies held rates and Japan was no exception.

This policy meeting was the final one presided by governor Masaaki Shirakawa, who will be replaced by incoming governor Haruhiko Kuroda. The new governor is a proponent of strong monetary measures to kick-start the economy as is on-side with PM Shinzo Abe’s brand of politics and economic policy.

 

WEEK AHEAD

* JPY Japanese Parliament Vote on BoJ Governor Nominations
* EUR German Consumer Price Index
* USD Advance Retail Sales
* NZD Reserve Bank of New Zealand Rate Decision
* AUD Employment Change
* CHF Swiss National Bank Rate Decision
* USD Producer Price Index
* EUR Euro-Zone Consumer Price Index
* USD Consumer Price Index

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency
trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza