Yen Advances to Strongest Level This Year on Fed-Cut Wagers
- View on Fed combines with bets on further BOJ tightening
- Asset managers turned most bullish on yen since March 2021
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The yen reached the highest level this year versus the dollar amid bets that Japanese monetary authorities will deliver further policy tightening this year, while markets braced for an expected interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week.
Japan’s currency gained for a fourth straight day on Friday, by as much as 1.1%. It touched 140.29 per dollar, the strongest since the end of December. In the US, traders are boosting bets on a possible half-point Fed rate reduction next week after a Wall Street Journal report that policymakers were still mulling that magnitude of easing, rather than a quarter-point.