CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as traders speculate uncertainty over the likely timing of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) next rate hike.
Asian stock markets traded mostly higher, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates ahead of U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium later in the day.
Powell's remarks could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting in September.
Ahead of Powell's speech, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 73.6 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point next month, down from 92.1 percent a week ago.
In an interview with CNBC, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid expressed doubt about lowering interest rates in September, saying the central bank needs to 'have very definitive data to be moving that policy rate.'
In economic news, Japan's Core consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.1 percent year-on-year in July 2025, easing from 3.3 percent in June but topping expectations of 3 percent.
Meanwhile, the reading remained well above the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target, fueling bets on a rate hike later this year.
In the Asian trading today, the yen fell to a 3-week low of 48.72 against the U.S. dollar, a 3-day low of 172.54 against the euro and a 2-day low of 199.33 against the pound, from yesterday's closing quotes of 148.39, 172.32 and 199.08, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 152.00 against the greenback, 173.00 against the euro and 201.00 against the pound.
The yen edged down to 183.59 against the Swiss franc, from Thursday's closing value of 183.48. On the downside, 186.00 is seen as the next support level for the yen.
Against the Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the yen slid to a 3-day low of 95.52, a 2-day low of 86.46 and a 3-day low of 106.89 from Thursday's closing quotes of 95.35, 86.38 and 106.74, respectively. The yen is likely to find support around 97.00 against the aussie, 89.00 against the kiwi and 108.00 against the loonie.
Looking ahead, the German GDP data for the second quarter is due to be release at 2:00 am ET in the pre-European session.
In the New York session, Canada retail and manufacturing sales data for July and U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data are slated for release.
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