Japanese Yen Gains on Risk Aversion, Positive Data

The Japanese yen gained today amid risk aversion caused by international tensions around the world. Domestic macroeconomic data, while usually having a limited impact on the currency, was also supportive.
Japan’s gross domestic product rose 0.5% in the second quarter of this year according to the preliminary estimate. That is compared to the average forecast of a 0.3% increase and the 0.2% drop registered in the first quarter.
The Producer Price Index rose 3.1% in July, year-on-year, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of 2.9%. Month-on-month, the index increased 0.5%.
The Indices of Tertiary Industry Activity was the only negative piece of data, falling 0.5% in June, while forecasters had predicted a smaller drop by 0.2%.
USD/JPY traded at 110.99 as of 10:57 GMT today after opening at 111.07 and falling to the daily low of 110.61. EUR/JPY dropped from 128.03 to 127.22, and its daily minimum was at 126.79. GBP/JPY declined from 142.41 to 141.71, touching the low of 141.05 intraday — the lowest level since August 2017.

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