Poor US Macroeconomic Reports Increase Appeal of Yen

The Japanese yen rose today to the highest level against the US dollar since the intervention as the US macroeconomic reports today were worse than most pessimistic forecast promised, increasing the attractiveness of the Japanese yen as the safe haven. The currency slipped against the euro.

The Conference Board consumer confidence declined from 53.2 to 52.5 this month, while the traders expected the drop to only 48.5. The Richmond Fed Index of Manufacturing Activity tumbled 11 to -2 in September. This reading is below the median forecast, which promised the value of 6, and indicates the worsening manufacturing conditions. The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller House Price Index fell from 4.2 percent to 3.1 percent as the analysts predicted.

The yen may rally as the Federal Reserve signaled about its readiness for the next stage of the quantitative easing to support the US economy. On the other hand, the gains may be limited by the speculation about another intervention by Japan.

USD/JPY declined from 84.28 to 83.75 as of 16:11 GMT today, while EUR/JPY rose from 113.39 to 113.67 after falling to 112.67. GBP/JPY dropped from 133.39 to 132.36.

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