Japanese Yen Rises as Exporters See Growth

The Japanese yen is a little higher today, thanks to the strength of Japanese exports and gains made by the Nikkei today. Stock markets in the United States and many other major cities were closed today for holiday, but the Japanese markets were open, and the gains reflected optimism for the economy.

Indeed, exporters saw pick up in demand, and rallied on expectations that a recovery in the US economy would mean better success for exporters for the end of 2011 and in the beginning of 2012. The news, so far, has meant a higher Japanese yen in trading today.

Trading, however, is slow today, thanks to a number of world markets being closed. Because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, major Western markets are closed today for the holiday. Tomorrow, volume should pick up considerably, and we will have time to reassess the position.

For now, though, Japanese yen has the upper hand, especially against the US dollar. Some analysts feel that Japanese leaders should get used to long-term yen appreciation, and begin making policy adjustments, rather than trying to fight the trend with currency market intervention. Others, though, say that a recovering US economy may buy the Japanese time, since USD/JPY is likely to do better in 2012.

At 16:13 GMT USD/JPY is lower at 77.9080, down from the open at 78.0800. EUR/JPY is also lower at 101.7900, down from the open at 101.8650.

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