Yen set to end week on strong note

The yen is set to end the week on a strong note this week, as the currency has rallied 2.6 per cent, its biggest weekly advance since February 12.

On Thursday, USDJPY traded at 107.67 yen, its strongest level since October 27, 2014 – a few days before the Bank of Japan surprised markets by boosting its quantitative easing programme. On Friday the pair traded at 108.73 yen. Data this morning showed Japan’s current account surplus jumped to an 11-month high of 2.434 trillion yen in February.

The dollar index, a measure of the US currency against a basket of global peers, was up 0.1 per cent at 94.608. The euro was down as much at $1.1367 following a volatile session on Thursday, with minutes from the European Central Bank’s March meeting showing the divisions between ECB policymakers over their newly-boosted stimulus package.

The Australian dollar was the best-performing Asian currency today, up 0.3 per cent as it recovered from a sharp fall overnight.

Oil prices bounced back from declines overnight of more than 1 per cent. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 1.2 per cent at $39.91 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, gained $37.93. The overall sentiment on oil this week was optimistic, as Kuwait’s OPEC governor said there were positive indications major producers would reach an agreement to freeze output, even without the participation of Iran. A meeting is scheduled for April 17. Also helping buoyo oil prices was data earlier this week which showed a surprise weekly decline in US stock piles for the first time in two months.

Gold was down 0.3 per cent on Friday at $1,236.77, but looks set to eke out a gain of 1.2 per cent for the week.

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