Talking Points
- Yen shows tepid reaction vs. majors after inflation, employment data
- CPI ex-food -0.5% y/y in August vs.-0.4% expected and -0.5% prior
- Jobless rate 3.1% y/y in August vs. 3.0% expected and 3.0% in July
Having trouble trading the Japanese Yen? This may be why.
The Japanese Yen showed a reserved reaction to reports of some worse than expectednational consumer prices and jobless rate readings. CPI clocked in at -0.5 percent year-on-year in August versus -0.5 percent expected and -0.4 percent in July. CPI excluding fresh food - the Bank of Japan’s main target - declined 0.5% versus -0.4% expected and -0.5% prior.
Meanwhile, the jobless rate ticked higher to3.1percent from 3.0 percent. Economists were expecting the unemployment rate to remain at 3.0 percent. The job-to-applicant ratio held steady as expected at last month’s reading of 1.37.
The central bank announced a major change in its stimulus regime last week. A wait-and-see period to gauge the effect of the new program will probably follow. With that in mind, traders may have judged that today’s data release has relatively little impact on near term policy trends, accounting for the Yen’s tepid reaction.
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