Yen Rises On BOJ Chief Ueda Remarks

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen strengthened against other major currencies in the European session on Thursday, as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) chief's remarks reinforced expectations of a rate hike.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda stated on Thursday that he anticipates an improvement in consumption as wage growth picks up steam and the increase in import prices subsides.

The remarks fueled speculation about the BOJ's impending interest rate hike, which raised the yields on Japanese government bonds and the value of the yen.

Markets weigh on macroeconomic concerns against optimism that U.S. negotiators could secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to escalate a global trade war with further tariffs on European Union goods after the EU hit back with import duties on €26 billion worth of American goods "matching the economic scope of the U.S. tariffs."

Canada also responded with 25 percent new tariffs on U.S.-made goods worth C$30 billion (€19 billion) effective at midnight New York time on Thursday, matching the U.S. tariffs "dollar for dollar."

Trump's hyper-focus on tariffs has rattled investors, consumers and business confidence and sparked U.S. recession fears.

In the European trading today, the yen rose to 2-day highs of 160.53 against the euro and 147.58 against the U.S. dollar, from recent lows of 161.52 and 148.37, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 154.00 against the euro and 145.00 against the greenback.

Against the pound, the Swiss franc and the Canadian dollar, the yen climbed to 191.18, 167.40 and 102.49 from recent lows of 192.35, 168.24 and 103.30, respectively. The yen may test resistance around 186.00 against the pound, 165.00 against the franc and 101.00 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, Eurostat is slated to release euro area industrial production figures for January at 6:00 am ET in the European session. Industrial output is expected to grow 0.5 percent month-on-month in January, in contrast to the 1.1 percent decrease in December.

In the New York session, U.S. building permits for January, PPI for February and U.S. weekly jobless claims data are slated for release.