After setting a new multi-month high near 1.3300 earlier in the week, GBP/USD trades in a narrow band at around 1.32700 on Friday and remains on track to end the week in positive territory. Markets turn quiet on Friday as trading conditions thin out on Easter Holiday.
USD/JPY Exchange rate
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD stabilizes above 1.1350 on Easter Friday
EUR/USD enters a consolidation phase above 1.1350 on Friday as the trading action remains subdued, with major markets remaining closed in observance of the Easter Holiday. On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced it cut key rates by 25 bps, as expected.
Gold ends week with impressive gains above $3,300
Gold retreated slightly from the all-time high it touched at $3,357 early Thursday but still gained more than 2% for the week after settling at $3,327. The uncertainty surrounding US-China trade relations caused markets to adopt a cautious stance, boosting safe-haven demand for Gold.
How SEC-Ripple case and ETF prospects could shape XRP’s future
Ripple consolidated above the pivotal $2.00 level while trading at $2.05 at the time of writing on Friday, reflecting neutral sentiment across the crypto market.
Future-proofing portfolios: A playbook for tariff and recession risks
It does seem like we will be talking tariffs for a while. And if tariffs stay — in some shape or form — even after negotiations, we’ll likely be talking about recession too. Higher input costs, persistent inflation, and tighter monetary policy are already weighing on global growth.
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USD/JPY
USD/JPY is the abbreviation for the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen cross. Trading this currency pair is known as the "gopher". The USD/JPY tends to have a positive correlation with the USD/CHF and USD/CAD, they all use the U.S. dollar as the base currency. The Yen is sensitive to factors related to Asian stock exchanges and due to the interest rate differential with other major currencies, it is also sensitive to any change affecting the so-called "Carry Trade".
HISTORICAL HIGHS AND LOWS
- Fixed Rate: (from 1944 to 1971) After World War II, the Yen lost its value. To stabilize, the exchange rate of it was fixed at ¥360 per $1 as part of the Bretton Woods system that set an obligation for each country to adopt a monetary policy that maintained the exchange rate by tying its currency to gold.
- Free Float Rate: When the Bretton Woods system ended in 1971, the USA terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold. The JPY became undervalued and was allowed to float. Since then, the pair reached its highest price in January 1973 at 301.15¥/USD and its minimum in October 2011 at 72¥/USD.
USD/JPY FORECAST 2025
Over 2,200 pips – that is the movement in the USD/JPY pair in 2024, driven by monetary policy divergence by central banks across the Pacific. In 2025, volatility may even increase further thanks to a potential divergence in the opposite direction and a less predictable geopolitical scene – another factor impacting the pair. Ueda and his colleagues are expected to drag their feet and only mention rate hikes as an effort to keep the Yen supported. Read more details about the forecast.
MOST INFLUENTIAL CURRENCIES FOR USD/JPY
The USD/JPY pair can also be impacted by other currencies, in particular the Euro (for being a prominent commercial partner) and the Chinese Yuan Renminbi (for being the other main Asian currency).This group also includes EUR/USD,GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD, USD/CAD, GBP/JPY and EUR/JPY
MOST INFLUENTIAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR USD/JPY
The organizations that most impact the USD/JPY are the Federal Reserve of the United States and the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
- About the Fed: The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of financial panics led to the desire for central control of the monetary system in order to alleviate financial crises.
- About the BoJ: The Bank of Japan is the central bank of Japan. The bank is often called Nichigin for short. The Bank's objectives are to issue banknotes and to carry out currency and monetary control and to ensure smooth settlement of funds among banks and other financial institutions, thereby contributing to the maintenance of the stability of the financial system.
The interest rate differential between the Fed and the BoJ will affect the value of these currencies when compared to each other. For example, when the Fed intervenes in open market activities to make the USD stronger, the value of the USD/JPY cross could increase, due to a strengthening of the U.S. dollar when compared to the Japanese yen.
In Japan, deflation has been a persistent threat for many years, and the BOJ has pursued a policy of very low rates in the hopes of stimulating demand and economic growth; at various points in the 2000s, real rates in Japan were actually slightly negative.
The US Government is as well an institution of great importance for this pair: events as administration statements, new laws and regulations or fiscal policy can increase or decrease the value of the US Dollar and the currencies traded against it. The same happens of course for the Japanese Government, in particular, all the speeches of the Primer Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who replaced Fumio Kishida in October 2024.