09 April 2013: Aggressive bond buying sinks JPY

USD/ JPY dropped for the third straight day as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday started  its aggressive monetary easing program. Following the strategy of the US Federal Reserve (FED), BOJ is buying Japanese bonds for trillion in an effort to stimulate economic growth.  The Japanese government intends to get out of the vicious inflation  circle and  has set a target for 2 % inflation. The bond buying has boosted the Japanese stock market. US stocks also gained yesterday ahead of second quarter earnings session which is expected to show moderate growth.

 USD rallied to its highest level towards JPY seen since 2009, trading at 99,50 yen as BOJ concluded its first bond purchases since announcing the new monetary easing last week. Wall Street slipped in early trading as caution ahead of the quarterly season dominated the sentiment. Stocks turned around and ended in positive territory.  US stocks have rallied strongly over the last months with major indexes hitting record highs. Earnings forecast are predicting a 1,6 % rise in earnings over the last year.

 The Nikkei index in Tokyo jumped 3.1 % and saw its highest level since 2008 as BOJ shall pump  an equivalent to USD 1,4 trillion into bonds over the next two years. These measures  have created a bonanza in the stock and real estate markets. Traders are waiting for a break through of the psychological  100 yen level a dollar.  US 10 years treasury bills fell sharply last week in response to the aggressive Japanese measures.

 Oil prices hitting a 8 month low on Friday, have recovered.  Brent crude is trading at USD 105,55 a barrel, up one dollar from the beginning of the week. Euro/USD has made a strong come back from its low level on 1.2760 last week in the aftermath of the turbulence in Cyprus and the press conference of the European Central Bank (ECB).  Euro/USD is  trading at 1.3050.  British pound, GBP, and other major currencies have also gained ground against dollar. Precious metals led by gold,  USD 1575 an ounce, is also trading higher.

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