USD/JPY week 46

The Japanese Yen added 0.238 points or 0.23% to 105.117 against the US Dollar on Tuesday following its biggest loss overnight since March as results from Pfizer/BioNTech revealed that its coronavirus vaccine was 90% effective in preventing infection among people without evidence of prior disease, raising optimism of global economic recovery. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reportedly instructed his ministers to compile a third extra budget for fiscal 2020, which will end in March, to finance a new stimulus to support the economy. In local data, total bank lending rose 6.2% in October from the same month a year earlier, slower than a 6.4% gain in September, but above market expectations of a 5.7% gain.

The Japanese yen weakened near 2% to 105.4 on Monday amid a general increase in risk appetite after results from Pfizer/BioNTech showed its coronavirus vaccine is 90% effective in preventing infection. Earlier in the session, the yen was already falling after Joe Biden’s win was met with optimism on expectations that a calmer and stable White House could boost world commerce and that monetary policy will remain easy. Meantime, Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has said the central bank has no plans to tweak its purchases of ETFs or unload its holdings, as the Summary of Opinions showed a need to ramp up stimulus to cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic while looking for further ways to enhance sustainability of the measure.