Japanese Yen stays weak against USD; intervention fears keep USD/JPY below 160.00

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The USD/JPY pair opens with a bullish gap at the start of a new week, though it lacks follow-through buying and remains below the 160.00 psychological mark heading into the European session.

USD/JPY attracts buyers for the third straight day as failed US-Iran talks boost the USD.
Economic concerns due to the Iran war undermine the JPY and also support spot prices.
Intervention fears limit deeper JPY losses and act as a headwind for the currency pair.

The USD/JPY pair opens with a bullish gap at the start of a new week, though it lacks follow-through buying and remains below the 160.00 psychological mark heading into the European session. Meanwhile, the fundamental backdrop remains supportive of the bid tone for the third straight day and backs the case for a further near-term appreciating move.

The Japanese Yen (JPY) continues with its relative underperformance amid economic concerns stemming from rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which, along with a broadly firmer US Dollar (USD), act as a tailwind for the USD/JPY pair. Market players remain worried that Japan's economy will face significant headwinds due to instability in the Strait of Hormuz. In fact, US President Donald Trump said that the US Navy would start blockading the strategic waterway after the failed US-Iran peace talks over the weekend.

Despite nearly 21 hours of intense discussions, high-level negotiations between the US and Iran ended without a breakthrough. Moreover, continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon raise the risk of a re-escalation of tensions, triggering a sharp intraday rally in Crude Oil prices and fueling inflation fears. The resultant spike in Japanese government bond yields (JGB) highlights Japan’s vulnerability to external energy shocks and weighs on the JPY. Meanwhile, the stalemate benefits the USD's reserve currency status and supports the USD/JPY pair.

Furthermore, expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will adopt a more hawkish stance, amid renewed inflationary fears due to the war-driven surge in energy prices, turn out to be another factor underpinning the buck. However, speculations that Japanese authorities would step in to stem further weakness in the domestic currency hold back traders from placing aggressive bearish bets around the JPY. This, in turn, keeps a lid on any meaningful appreciation for the USD/JPY pair and warrants some caution before positioning for further gains.

Japanese Yen Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the strongest against the British Pound.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.22%	0.25%	0.21%	0.03%	0.12%	0.00%	0.07%
EUR	-0.22%		0.02%	0.00%	-0.18%	-0.11%	-0.22%	-0.11%
GBP	-0.25%	-0.02%		-0.04%	-0.23%	-0.13%	-0.26%	-0.17%
JPY	-0.21%	0.00%	0.04%		-0.23%	-0.12%	-0.25%	-0.10%
CAD	-0.03%	0.18%	0.23%	0.23%		0.13%	-0.02%	0.05%
AUD	-0.12%	0.11%	0.13%	0.12%	-0.13%		-0.12%	0.02%
NZD	0.00%	0.22%	0.26%	0.25%	0.02%	0.12%		0.11%
CHF	-0.07%	0.11%	0.17%	0.10%	-0.05%	-0.02%	-0.11%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Japanese Yen from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent JPY (base)/USD (quote).