After Monday’s sharp swings, Asia markets settled into a more subdued session on Tuesday.
The Japanese yen found some relief, rebounding from early highs above 148.40 to around 147.75. The move was spurred by comments from Japan’s Finance Minister Kato, who said he hopes to speak with U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent on FX matters during the upcoming G7 meetings in Banff, Canada (May 20–22). The remarks were seen as a subtle warning about the yen’s recent weakness and a possible prelude to verbal intervention.
Earlier in the session, the Bank of Japan released its “Summary of Opinions” from the April 30–May 1 policy meeting, with members emphasizing heightened uncertainty—particularly around U.S. trade policy. The tone underscored the Bank’s cautious stance, suggesting limited scope for near-term action until global developments stabilise. Since then, the U.S.-China trade talks have yielded a modest tariff rollback and a 90-day pause in new measures.
BoJ Deputy Governor Uchida echoed the theme of uncertainty in separate remarks, but reiterated that the Bank still expects to raise rates gradually if the economy and inflation evolve as forecast.
In China, the yuan strengthened after the People’s Bank of China set the daily USD/CNY reference rate below 7.2 for the first time since April 7, signalling support for currency stability amid easing trade tensions.
Australian data offered a slightly improved but still cautious tone. Consumer confidence edged higher from previous lows, while business confidence ticked up modestly. Business conditions, however, slipped on the month.
Elsewhere in FX, major currency pairs excluding the yen traded in tight ranges.
Yen rebound on Kato comment; China signal CNY support — TradingView News
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Key points:
After Monday’s sharp swings, Asia markets settled into a more subdued session on Tuesday.
The Japanese yen found some relief, rebounding from early highs above 148.40 to around 147.75. The move was spurred by comments from Japan’s Finance Minister Kato, who said he hopes to speak with U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent on FX matters during the upcoming G7 meetings in Banff, Canada (May 20–22). The remarks were seen as a subtle warning about the yen’s recent weakness and a possible prelude to verbal intervention.
Earlier in the session, the Bank of Japan released its “Summary of Opinions” from the April 30–May 1 policy meeting, with members emphasizing heightened uncertainty—particularly around U.S. trade policy. The tone underscored the Bank’s cautious stance, suggesting limited scope for near-term action until global developments stabilise. Since then, the U.S.-China trade talks have yielded a modest tariff rollback and a 90-day pause in new measures.
BoJ Deputy Governor Uchida echoed the theme of uncertainty in separate remarks, but reiterated that the Bank still expects to raise rates gradually if the economy and inflation evolve as forecast.
In China, the yuan strengthened after the People’s Bank of China set the daily USD/CNY reference rate below 7.2 for the first time since April 7, signalling support for currency stability amid easing trade tensions.
Australian data offered a slightly improved but still cautious tone. Consumer confidence edged higher from previous lows, while business confidence ticked up modestly. Business conditions, however, slipped on the month.
Elsewhere in FX, major currency pairs excluding the yen traded in tight ranges.
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