Japanese Yen Halts Rally, Risk Aversion Persists

The Japanese yen fell against a range of currencies today, even including some commodity-related ones. The possible reason for the retreat was profit-taking after the previous big gains. The market sentiment remained fragile as the coronavirus continues to spread, and investors are concerned about its impact on the global economy.
The dangerous infection continues to spread, with the number of confirmed cases exceeding 4,500 and the death toll climbing to 106, up from 81 yesterday. There is still hope that China will be able to stop the spread of the infection and other countries will prevent a serious outbreak in other parts of the world. But the danger is still present, and it is unclear for now how it will affect the global trade and economy.
As for today’s macroeconomic data in Japan, the Bank of Japan reported that the Services Producer Price Index rose by 2.1% in December from a year ago, the same as in the previous three months and in line with expectations. Month-on-month, the index was unchanged, slowing from the November increase of 0.2%.
In another report, the BoJ revealed that the core Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3% in December, year-on-year, whereas experts were expecting the same 0.2% rate of growth as in the preceding month.
USD/JPY rose from 108.88 to 109.01 as of 8:23 GMT today. EUR/JPY gained from 119.99 to 120.06. CAD/JPY advanced from 82.51 to 82.60, touching the high of 82.73 intraday.

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