Japanese Yen underperforms as oil prices gain ground

Japanese Yen Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the weakest against the New Zealand Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.11%	-0.08%	0.30%	0.06%	0.20%	-0.19%	0.00%
EUR	0.11%		0.04%	0.45%	0.19%	0.31%	-0.05%	0.12%
GBP	0.08%	-0.04%		0.38%	0.14%	0.26%	-0.11%	0.08%
JPY	-0.30%	-0.45%	-0.38%		-0.25%	-0.12%	-0.51%	-0.30%
CAD	-0.06%	-0.19%	-0.14%	0.25%		0.15%	-0.25%	-0.05%
AUD	-0.20%	-0.31%	-0.26%	0.12%	-0.15%		-0.36%	-0.18%
NZD	0.19%	0.05%	0.11%	0.51%	0.25%	0.36%		0.18%
CHF	-0.01%	-0.12%	-0.08%	0.30%	0.05%	0.18%	-0.18%

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).

WTI Oil price is up 2.3% around $93.30 in the European trade amid uncertainty over the US-Iran truce sustainability. Currencies from economies, such as Japan, that rely heavily on imported oil to fulfill their energy needs tend to underperform in a high oil price environment.

Investors doubt the credibility of the truce as Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continued their attacks on Iran-backed Houthis in Lebanon. According to a tweet from Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the US has violated the first clause of the 10-point proposal, which states “an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and other regions, effective immediately”. Qalibaf added that it would be “unreasonable” to continue talks in the current conditions.

Meanwhile, both the US and Iran have confirmed that they are sending teams to Pakistan for the first round of talks, which are scheduled over the weekend.

During the press time, market sentiment is slightly risk-averse amid uncertainty over the US-Iran ceasefire’s longevity. S&P 500 futures are down 0.2% to near 6,770, reflecting weak investors’ risk appetite.

Going forward, investors will focus on the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for March, which will be released on Friday.

Economic Indicator

Consumer Price Index (YoY)

Inflationary or deflationary tendencies are measured by periodically summing the prices of a basket of representative goods and services and presenting the data as The Consumer Price Index (CPI). CPI data is compiled on a monthly basis and released by the US Department of Labor Statistics. The YoY reading compares the prices of goods in the reference month to the same month a year earlier.The CPI is a key indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as bullish for the US Dollar (USD), while a low reading is seen as bearish.

Why it matters to traders?

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) has a dual mandate of maintaining price stability and maximum employment. According to such mandate, inflation should be at around 2% YoY and has become the weakest pillar of the central bank’s directive ever since the world suffered a pandemic, which extends to these days. Price pressures keep rising amid supply-chain issues and bottlenecks, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hanging at multi-decade highs. The Fed has already taken measures to tame inflation and is expected to maintain an aggressive stance in the foreseeable future.