Yen Drops, USD/JPY Advances Above 101 Mark

The Japanese fell today against all other most-traded currencies and dropped below the 101 per dollar level on positive data from the United States and signs that Japanese investors buy foreign bonds. The US federal budget balance turned from the deficit of $106.5 billion in March to the surplus of $112.9 in April. The excess was above the analysts forecast of $108.3 billion.
The government data showed that Japanese investors boosted their holdings of overseas bonds. Experts explained that aggressive monetary easing from the Bank of Japan made speculators seek profit outside of Japan. The data from Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that future traders increased their short positions on the yen. With extensive stimulus measures from the BoJ and absence of need for safety the currency has no choice but go down. USD/JPY went up from 100.57 to 101.97 (the highest price since October 2008) intraday and closed at 101.57. EUR/JPY advanced from 131.15 to 131.89. GBP/JPY ticked up from 155.35 to 156.00, while its daily high was at 156.65. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Japanese Yen, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.