Dollar edges up against Yen after Trump-Abe meeting

The Japanese yen opened lowered against the greenback on Monday’s early session as a result of the meeting held between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last Friday.

Upon the opening of the Asian markets on Monday, the U.S. dollar was up around 0.15% in the US dollar index (DXY) at 100.930 against the basket of major currencies, while it increased 0.65% at ¥113.920, briefly reaching the rate¥114.171, which was the pair’s highest since January 30. At present, the dollar-yen pair is trading at ¥113.552 1704 JST.

Meanwhile in the Asian markets, most indices experienced a surge on early Monday as an effect of the meeting. The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 0.6%, Australian ASX was also up by 0.6%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose 0.3%, and the Shanghai Composite Index increased by 0.4%.

“There is a relief that the summit ended without confrontation, and that the joint statement did not directly touch upon currency issues,” mentioned forex strategist Masafumi Yamamoto. “While the outcome of the U.S.-Japan summit itself is not a huge dollar boosting factor, the currency continues to receive firm support from expectations towards Trump’s ‘phenomenal’ tax plands.”

During the meeting between Abe and Trump, the current exchange rate topic was not mentioned, which in turn helped the dollar gain from the yen, and the Asian markets climb as sign of relief over the anticipated tension between the two countries.

Trump did not raise the topic of his previous comment stating that Japan and China are currency manipulators and did not also request a bilateral trade deal. However, the U.S. president only stated that the “currencies of the U.S., China, and Japan would soon be on a ‘level playing field’.”

The main topic of discussion during the Feb 10-11 meeting revolved mostly about matters of national security.

Due to the absence of remarks regarding any currency policies, investors and economist were relieved to hear that the two countries are currently conducting peaceful talks in order to discuss trade relations.

Meanwhile, reports stated that the official economic discussion will be led by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, wherein the talks will mainly center on three topics: monetary policy, cooperative projects, and trade. There is not yet a specific date when Pence will travel to Japan and begin talks.

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