The Japanese yen fell in Asian trade on Friday against a basket of major rivals, trading near a week low against the dollar and on track for a weekly loss amid growing concerns by the Bank of Japan towards mounting outside risks.

The BOJ is meeting next week to discuss monetary policies, expected to hold interest rates unchanged. 

The Price

The USD/JPY rose 0.55% to 148.59 yen per dollar, with a session-low at 147.69 yen.

The yen rose 0.3% on Wednesday against the dollar, the first profit in three days away from a week low at 149.19.

Weekly Trades

The yen is down 0.5% so far this week against the dollar on track for the second weekly loss in the past three weeks.

BOJ

The Bank of Japan is convening next week to discuss suitable monetary policies, widely expected to hold rates steady at 0.5%.

BOJ policymakers are expected to discuss the risks of the mounting US trade war on the export-oriented Japanese economy, which will determine the timing of the next rate hike.

Concerns about a global recession due to Donald Trump’s trade wars are casting shadows on Japanese wages and inflation data, which showed progress towards the 2% BOJ target.

As investors expect no change in policies next week, the markets will be focused on BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda post-meeting remarks, looking for clues about the potential impact of the worsening global outlook on the path ahead of Japanese interest rates.

A BOJ source told Reuters that the central bank believes the Japanese economy is on the right track but outside risks have increased, which might impact the timing of the next rate hike. 

US stock indices lost ground today following earlier data and after new tariff threats by President Donald Trump against the EU.

Earlier US data showed producer prices were little changed last month, while analysts expected a 0.3% monthly increase. On a yearly basis, prices rise 3.2%, slowing down from 3.7% in January.

US President Donald Trump threatened even more tariffs against the EU after the EU announced retaliatory tariffs on American products in response to Trump's 25% steel and aluminum tariffs.

On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.4% at the opening, or 144 points to 41213 points, while S&P 500 slid 0.5% to 5569 points. The NASDAQ shed 0.9% to 17488 points.

Bitcoin lost over 1.5% after a short hiatus as markets shun riskier assets such as cryptocurrencies amid a raging global trade war.

Sentiment is sinking in the market with US 10-year treasury yields rising as the odds of a Fed rate cut berfore June all but disappeared. 

Prices

Bitcoin fell 1.5% at Bitstamp today to $82,417, with a session-high at 84,247.

Bitcoin gained 0.9% at Bitstamp on Wednesday, edging away from four-month lows at $76,600.

Bitcoin was also boosted by a new round of purchases by Japanese company MetaPlanet. 

Crypto Market Value 

The market value of cryptocurrencies fell by $25 bllion today to $2.785 trillion as sentiment weakened. 

US 10-year treasury yields rose 0.7% today on track for the third increase in a row, about to hit two-week highs, in turn hurting the market appetite. 

I tcomes amid growing risks in regards to US trade tariffs on major economic partners, triggering recession concerns. 

US Rates

Markets no longer see any serious chance of a Fed rate cut before June as the US economy faces inflationary risks due to Trump's aggreessive tariffs. 

Gold prices rose on Thursday on track for the third straight session, hitting a two-week high and trading near a recent record high on strong haven demand amid mounting global trade tensions. 

US inflation has also slowed down in February, bolstering the odds of a Fed interest rate cut in the first half of the year.

Prices

Gold prices rose 0.5% today to $2948 an ounce, the highest since February 25, with a session-low at $2933.

On Wednesday, gold rose 0.6%, the second profit in a row on strong heaven demand. 

The precious metal hit record highs on February 24 at $2956 an ounce before entering a downward correction.

Global Trade Tensions

US President Donald Trump announced plans to escalate the global trade war through imposing additional tariffs on European commodities.

The threat comes after Trump already imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, triggering strong reactions from all major US partners.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced plans to retaliate on a variety of US products starting April 2025, including bourbon and Harley Davidson products. 

US Rates

Recent data showed US consumer prices slowed down more than expected, bolstering the odds of a Fed rate cut in the summer.

According to the Fedwatch tool, the odds of a Fed 0.25% rate cut in March stood at just 3%.

However, the odds of such a cut in June are much higher at 78%.

Now traders await important US producer prices and unemployment claims data today to gather more clues.

SPDR

Gold holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust rose 3.44 tons yesterday to a total of 898.64 tons, the highest in a week.