This is the first time since 2007 and somewhat aided by the positive jobless claims in the US, as well as with a renewed weakening of EUR/USD as Draghi talks.
The “line in the sand†for the BOJ may be 125, but with falling oil prices, a weak yen is less of a problem.
US jobless claims came out at 297K. While this was expected, the figure was a relief after the leap to 313K in the previous week. It is still above the rock bottom levels of around 280K seen in previous months.
In the euro-zone, Draghi refrained from announcing QE, but it seems quite imminent, especially as the recent downgrade of inflation forecasts did not include the fall in oil prices.
The impact of Japan’s second phase of QE announced in October continues weighing on the yen.
After the initial break, the pair had a significant retreat below the previous levels. However, it managed to resume the rally shortly afterwards. At the time of writing, dollar/yen is at 120.10.
This is how it looks on the chart:
