Yen Strengthens, Boosted by BOJ Rate-Hike Expectations, Tariff Worries
0226 GMT — The yen strengthens against other G-10 and Asian currencies in the morning session. Japanese data released earlier showed the economy's real wages rose 0.6% in December from a year earlier, marking a second straight month of increases. A solid rise in Japanese labor cash earnings will reinforce the current market pricing in at least one more rate hike by the BOJ this year, CBA's Joseph Capurso says in a note. In addition, with the 'tariff war' between the U.S. and other countries seemingly ongoing, the AUD/JPY is likely to retest support at 94.69, the head of International and Sustainable Economics adds. USD/JPY falls 0.6% to 153.36; AUD/JPY drops 0.7% to 95.88. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
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