ING: The Japanese yen is unlikely to rebound substantially unless energy prices plummet or US interest rates drop sharply

Golden Ten Data reported on April 16 that Chris Turner, an analyst at ING Group, stated in a report that despite the prospect of currency intervention and the possibility of further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, the yen may still find it difficult to achieve a substantial rebound. He noted that unless energy prices fall sharply or U.S. interest rates decrease significantly, the threat of intervention by Japanese officials to boost the yen may have little effect. Meanwhile, market expectations for a Bank of Japan rate hike on April 28 are too low; if a hike occurs, it should be able to prevent the USD/JPY from rising above 160. He said, “However, the conditions for a sustained decline in USD/JPY have not yet been met, and we tend to expect the pair to remain in the 155-160 range for the rest of the quarter.”