Ueda and Suzuki:

Other:

Bank of Japan Governor Ueda spoke in the Japanese parliament today. He opened by saying that concerns about the slowing US economy are what caused the recent market rout. The yen began its rise on this, taking a cue that Bank of Japan was not going to back down from tightening. While the yen didn’t surge it carried on with its rise through the morning. USD/JPY fell from early highs just above 146.30 to lows around 145.30 before stabilising 145.45/65 ish. Ueda comments continued for hours, with Japanese finance minister Suzuki chiming in from time to time. Summary points are in the (many) posts above.

Prior to Ueda’s testimony we had July inflation data from Japan. Headline and core remained above the Bank of Japan 2% target while core-core dipped below for the first time since September 2022.

News and data flow was light otherwise. US Vice President Harris accepted the Democrat Party nomination to run as its candidate for President, as widely expected.

The USD was a little weaker against other major FX, but in limited ranges.

USD/JPY:

usdyen ueda suzuki 23 August 2024 wrap 2