The Japanese yen, paired with the US dollar, initially sharply declined, then strengthened on Monday. The current USDJPY exchange rate stands at 156.92.
Today, the US dollar made a historical leap, reaching 160.00 yen, a level never before witnessed in the market. This occurred amid small trading volumes, as Monday is a public holiday in Japan, which may be the reason for the high turbulence.
On Friday, the Bank of Japan left the monetary policy unchanged and the interest rate within the target range of 0-0.1% per annum. The yen declined sharply as fiscal authorities' inaction disappointed traders. Today, the market continued to push the JPY into the abyss, and expectations of intervention rose sharply.
In other words, the USDJPY pair is all about speculation, with nothing significant happening here. On the contrary, investors create and react to their expectations, while official authorities simply observe.
