The yen was lower against the dollar on Friday after the Bank of Japan stood pat on its monetary policy. Meanwhile, the greenback regained ground after Thursday's data.
The BoJ reiterated its promise to
increase base money at an annual pace of ¥80 trillion through aggressive
asset purchases. The decision was made by an 8-1 vote.
Haruhiko Kuroda, the bank's governor, commented that inflation is likely to reach the 2% target without more monetary easing, as capital expenditure was growing and business sentiment picking up.
The yen declined after the decision with USD/JPY hitting 123.22 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair was last at 123.03, adding 0.07%.
In the meantime, the dollar was buoyed by Thursday's data which indicated that the number of those in the U.S. filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 13 declined by 12,000 to a four-week low of 267,000 from the previous week’s total of 279,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 2,000 to 275,000 last week.
Separately, data showed that U.S. consumer prices rose by 0.4% last month, missing forecasts for a rise of 0.5% and following a rise of 0.1% in April. Year-over-year, consumer prices were flat in May.
The yen was flat vs the euro with EUR/JPY trading at 139.66.
The euro was fragile as on Thursday Greece approached the exit from the eurozone. A meeting of finance officials to reach a deal over aid dissolved in acrimony, forcing leaders to call for an emergency summit for Monday, says Bloomberg.
The current bailout for the cash-strapped country expires on 30 June when Athens is also due to repay the IMF around €1.6 billion. IMF Chief Christine Lagarde said that in case the payment is not made on time, Greece will be declared to be in default and would disqualify itself from receiving any further IMF funds.
