On the currency markets, the week begins in the sign of yen. The Japanese currency, which on Friday had sailed above 90, returned to 85,5 against the dollar, waiting for a new easing of monetary policy from the Bank of Japan.
THEeuro remains virtually unchanged dollar (at 1,3318), while it moved up 0,03 on the GBP (at 0,8392). The greenback lost 0,43% against the yen, at 89,68, while the Australian currency it rises by 0,04% on that of the United States, to 1,0514. Dollar down 0,13% also on Swiss franc, at 0,9334.
In Tokyo it starts today the periodic meeting of the board of the BOJ: the current governor is expiring and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has already announced that he will appoint a successor close to his positions, which contemplate a much more aggressive monetary policy than the current one. In particular, the Bank of Japan will have to commit to creating liquidity until the inflation rate moves out of negative territory, reaching at least 2%.
Last week it closed with the dollar at its highest level in the last seven days (the Dollar Index recorded a +0,6%), while the currencies considered as safe-haven assets had been dominated by losses. In particular, taking advantage of the profits achieved at the end of the week, the Swiss franc and the yen had clearly weakened, even against the euro.
The single currency had thus reached its highest level against the Swiss franc, touching the record since September 2011, when the Swiss National Bank intervened to fix a ceiling against the community currency.
as to GBP, depreciated last week on the unexpected drop in retail sales in December, shedding 0,8% against the dollar to hit 1,5855, its lowest level in two months. The fall against the euro was the worst in almost a year.
