Forexlive Asia-pacific FX news wrap: Bank of Japan leaves rates unchanged

• Bank of Japan interest rate decision: Unchanged at 0%-0.10%. Removes key line on bond buys
• Tokyo April CPI ex fresh food +1.6% y/y vs +2.2% expected
• A one-off factor liked dropped Tokyo CPI
• Australia Q1 PPI +4.3% y/y vs +4.1% prior
• Trump wants to put someone at the Fed who will work for him – report
• Japanese fin min says he won’t comment on forex and details of policy. Watching closely
• Suzuki: Forex levels reflecting US and Japan interest rate differential
• UK GfK April consumer confidence -19 vs -20 expected
• A Tesla senior VPs that quit last week files to sell all $181 million of his TSLA stock

Markets:

• USD/JPY rises 36 pips to fresh 34-year high at 156.00
• Gold up $2 to $2334
• WTI crude oil up 23-cents to $83.80
• 10-year JGB yields up 2 bps to 0.917%
• NZD leads, JPY lags
• S&P 500 futures up 0.8%

The Bank of Japan kept us in suspense longer than usual but ultimately delivered a decision that was largely in-line with expectations. The market reacted by selling the yen because there was no hint at an upcoming hike, only vague talk of hiking rates at an unspecified time if the economy develops in line with forecasts. One notable emission from the statement was comments on keeping bond buys unchnaged. That comes after an earlier report saying the BOJ might shift on that front. We will look for more clarity from Ueda.

Aside from yen trading, the dollar was slightly softer in keeping with the trend after the post-GDP jump earlier. That move has faded on every front.

Equities are also in focus after a big after-hours jump in Alphabet shares and a decent one in MSFT as well. That boosted risk appetite and could weigh on the US dollar on a few fronts later, though PCE data will certainly play a part.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.