Trade Weighted Yen Index Hits 20-Year Low

The Japanese Yen continues to stand out as the weakest major currency on its divergent central bank, with its Index reaching a new two-decade low.

1. Markets are focusing on Forex today as the trade-weighted Japanese Yen continues to fall, reaching a new 20-year low yesterday. The USD/JPY currency pair reached a new 1-year high during the Tokyo session above ¥142, attracting interest from trend traders on the long side. The weakness of the Yen is fuelled by its strongly divergent central bank which continues to pursue an extremely accommodative, dovish monetary policy, and is likely to continue.
2. Asias stock markets have continued to weaken on the news there will be no Chinese monetary stimulus any time soon. The Hang Seng Index ending the day down by more than 1%. US stock index futures have also declined slightly. China worries have also hit demand for WTI Crude Oil, which seems to be falling after topping at about $72 per barrel.
3. The Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes of its most recent policy meeting, revealing the Bank is “finely balanced” over whether to pause rates or continue hiking. The release seems to have weakened the Australian Dollar which has been the weakest major currency over the Asian session, while the Euro is the strongest, putting the EUR/AUD currency cross in focus.
4. The Sugar ETF CANE reached another multi-year high price last Friday, so trend traders may be interested in Sugar on the long side.
5. There are no major data releases scheduled for today, so it may be an unusually quiet day in the markets.