The Japanese Yen drifts lower for the second straight day and is pressured by a combination of factors. The BoJ’s cautious stance, softer domestic data and a positive risk tone undermine the safe-haven JPY. The upbeat US NFP-inspired USD strength lifts USD/JPY back closer to the multi-decade high. The Japanese Yen witnessed an intraday turnaround from over a two-week high touched against its American counterpart on Friday and finally settled near the lower end of its daily trading range.
The popularly known NFP report showed that the US economy added 303K jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell to 3.8% from 3.9% in the previous month. The data, meanwhile, gives the Fed more reason to stay patient and changed the odds of rate cuts this year from three to two, which pushes the US Treasury bond yields higher. The market focus now shifts to the release of the US consumer inflation figures for March, due on Wednesday, which will be followed by the FOMC meeting minutes.