The yen edged lower on Friday morning in Asia following a report showed that the inflation in Japan rose to a third straight month in April. However, the inflation is still staying well-below the Bank of Japan's target of 1 percent.
Core consumer prices in Japan were up 0.2 percent on year on April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said today - beating forecasts for a gain of 0.1 percent and unchanged from the previous month.
Overall inflation was up 0.4 percent, in line with expectations and easing from 0.5 percent in March.
On a monthly basis, core CPI was up 0.2 percent and overall inflation added 0.1 percent.
Tokyo inflation, which is considered a leading indicator for the nationwide trend, was down 0.5 percent on year in May. This was below forecasts for a 0.3 percent drop, which would have been unchanged from the April reading.
Core CPI in Tokyo plummeted 0.8 percent, well shy of forecasts for -0.5 percent, which also would have been unchanged from a month prior.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said today that the nation's domestic demand is strong and the European debt woes have a hard impact on equities and the currency as the yen is considered safe-haven. He also pointed out that the yen tends to gain when fundamental concerns surrounding the European crisis rise.
The yen fell to a 2-day low of 79.70 against the dollar, almost 70-pips lower than last week's pivotal resistance line of 79.0. The near-term support for the Japanese unit is seen around the 80.00/10 area.
The yen also drifted lower to 124.94 against the pound, 83.27 against the Swiss franc and a tad-higher the 100-mark against the euro as a recovery in European equities and the US stock futures boosted risk-appetite. The Swiss franc was particularly lower overnight as speculation on SNB action propelled the bear run.
The Japanese currency was also down against the commodity-linked currencies on renewed risk-sentiment, falling to a 2-day low of 60.26 against the New Zealand dollar and 78.01 against the Australian dollar. The yen was also testing yesterday's low of 77.75 against the Canadian dollar.
Economic docket in upcoming sessions is very light, with German import price index, Gfk consumer confidence and the University of Michigan's confidence are the lone drivers that would likely impact the market.
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Forex News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.