The Japanese Yen moved away from a 2-month trough versus the US Dollar with investors taking the latest tariff issues in stride. The Trump administration levied additional tariffs on some $200 billion in Chinese products coming into the US, which resulted in the Chinese government retaliating with the imposition of tariffs on $60 billion in US imports. In Asian trade, the British Pound managed to eke out gains against its major peers on rising hope that a deal which could avert a hard Brexit is in the works.
As reported at 10:19 am (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY was trading at 112.287 Yen, down 0.67%; the pair has ranged from 112.230 Yen to a high of 112.376 Yen. The GBP/USD was flat, trading at $1.31, while the EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8872 Pence, down 0.03%.
Trump Telegraphed Intent
Analysts say that Donald Trump's threat of more tariffs on China had been announced by the media so frequently that FX markets had already priced in the eventuality. What is also helping to ease jitters over the tariff situation is the fact that the duties on Chinese imports will only gradually increase from the current 10% to 25% over the course of the next few months.