USDJPY continues its wild rise touching 111.40 highs so far. Notably, the USDJPY was at 109 on Friday. Nevertheless, Reduced concerns over the French Presidential elections in combination with strong US data and optimism regarding Trump’s expected tax reform announcement today, kept the pair in high demand, as well as stock markets.Â
Overnight positive earnings from large multinational companies lifted US equities Nasdaq hit a record high yesterday, surpassing 6000 points, while the Dow and S&P 500 also closed 1.12% and 0.61% respectively. EURUSD also rose to 6 month highs of 1.0950 as a sign of relief that Le Pen will probably not win the French Presidency. (she is a risk for a withdrawal of France from the EU). Macron is expected to win 60-63% of the second round vote.
Against the JPY, the EUR edged up 0.2% to 121.76, the EUR has gained 4.1% against the JPY so far this week. The CAD stood at $1.3572, not very far from Tuesday’s low of $1.3626 against the greenback, the lowest level since February 2016.
Commodity prices headed higher driven by a decrease of geopolitical risks (N. Korea). Gold prices declined as risk sentiment improved. Gold moves inversely correlated to stock markets, or USDJPY as of late. The yellow metal was trading at $1263 at time of writing, down $25 from last Friday.
