Japan’s Yen Goes Down as Market Sentiment Improves

The Japanese yen fell today versus the US dollar and the euro after European finance ministers agreed to provide a bailout for Greece and on speculations that US retail sales grew with faster pace last month.

Greece will receive as much as â‚¬ 130 billion from the European Financial Stability Facility during the next three years and the first portion of the rescue will be provided this month. Analysts predict that today’s report from the Census Bureau will show an increase of retail sales by 1.1 percent in February, following the 0.4% advance in the preceding month. Some economists also speculate that the Federal Reserve may announce quantitative easing after today’s monetary policy meeting despite signs of robust economic recovery in the United States.

USD/JPY rose today from 82.26 to 82.66 as of 11:15 GMT, following the drop to 81.95, while the daily high was 82.79 — the highest since April 20. EUR/JPY went up from 108.20 to 108.45.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Japanese Yen,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.