Japanese yen retreats on profit-taking

The Japanese yen weakened to around 155.7 per dollar on Tuesday, retreating from three straight sessions of gains as traders moved to lock in profits.

The recent rally had been fueled by growing bets of a potential rate hike by the Bank of Japan, signaling a possible shift in monetary policy direction.

In its latest news, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said that she sees no divergence between the government and the BoJ in their economic assessments, highlighting continued alignment between fiscal and monetary policy.

She also noted that she expects the BoJ to maintain close coordination with the government, implementing monetary policy measures aimed at achieving the 2% inflation target, supported by sustainable wage growth.

Katayama’s remarks followed comments from BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda, who expressed confidence in Japan’s economic outlook and indicated that the central bank would carefully consider the pros and cons of raising interest rates at its December policy meeting.