© Dukascopy Bank SA
Despite all risks to the economy, the Japanese Yen has been one of the main gainers this year so far. However, for the previous week, Yen's gains were limited and the pair continued to strengthen after Japan's finance minister Taro Aso said in parliament on Monday that the Japanese government is ready to "undertake intervention" in the foreign exchange market should the country's currency strengthen further. On Thursday, the greenback stepped lower from its two-week high at 109.40 mark, taking hits from unexpectedly worse initial jobless claims. According to the Department of Labor the weekly gauge spiked to a seventeen-week high during the week of May 7, rising for the third time in a row. But jobless claims still remained below the 300,000 threshold, uninterrupted since March 2015. Moreover the US macro calendar brought one more update as import prices plummeted 5.7% year-to-year in April, following a revised 6.1% drop seen previously. Overall the pair closed the week on a 108.4 mark.
Nevertheless, Dukascopy Community members are still bullish on the pair, with 66% of respondents having positive view. For the sixth consecutive week the pair has been trading in a range between 106.02 and 109.11, represented by weekly S1. Fundamentals are unlikely to provide any surprises, but still Japan is to produce preliminary data on first quarter economic growth on Wednesday while on Friday Tokyo is to host the G7 meeting.
© Dukascopy Bank SA