Japanese Yen Ticks Up As Final 4Q GDP Does The Same

Talking Points

• The final official look at Japan’s growth in the final quarter of the old year missed forecasts
• However, it did beat the preliminary snapshot
• Business spending also picked up

The Japanese Yen rose very slightly against the US Dollar on Wednesday as Japanese growth levels were revised higher, albeit not by much.

The ‘final’ official look at Gross Domestic Product numbers for the fourth quarter of 2016 showed an increase of 0.3%. That was just below the 0.4% rise which markets had expected, but above the preliminary rate of 0.2% released back in February. Compared to the same period the year before growth was 1.2%, above the 1% initially registered. However, it was still well below forecasts which had looked for a rise of between 1.4 and 1.6%.

Consumer spending was flat, as expected. The one unarguable bright spot was business spending. This was up 2% on the quarter, but the overall picture remains one of hesitant overall growth despite massive government stimulus efforts.

USD/JPY slipped to 113.79 after the data, from 113.94 just before it saw daylight.

Modest knock: USD/JPY

Chart Compiled Using TradingView

The first quarter is getting very elderly now, how are the DailyFX analysts’ forecasts bearing up?

--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research

Contact and follow David on Twitter: @DavidCottleFX