Currencies
Yen Watchers Game Out Intervention Risks Post US CPI Report
- Standard Chartered says Japan unlikely to act before Wednesday
- Intervention level could be higher than 152 if CPI reading hot
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The beleaguered yen has been hovering near a critical turning point and a 34-year low, but Japanese authorities are likely to wait for a US inflation reading later this week before stepping in to prop up the currency, according to Standard Chartered.
The yen traded around the 151.80 level in early Tokyo trading Tuesday, a whisker away from this year’s low of 151.97 per dollar, and 152 — a key psychological level that many say will trigger Japanese authorities to act. But strategists at the British bank expect policymakers to leave their red line more ambiguous as they wait for Wednesday’s March inflation data. A too-hot reading could spur dollar buying, they warned.