AUD/JPY tumbles on Thursday as a sudden surge in the Japanese Yen (JPY) sweeps across Yen crosses, fuelling speculation that Japanese authorities intervened to support the currency after USD/JPY hit a 40-year high earlier this month.
At the time of writing, AUD/JPY trades around 111.70, down roughly 1.75% on the day and at its lowest level since July 3
USD/JPY plunged nearly 480 pips, falling below the psychological 160 mark. There has been no official confirmation from Tokyo, although Japanese officials have repeatedly warned that they are prepared to act against excessive currency moves. Meanwhile, Reuters also recently reported that authorities were considering a change in strategy that would involve intervening without warning.
Traders now look to Friday’s Bank of Japan (BoJ) decision, alongside the Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Unemployment Rate. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its policy rate unchanged at 1.00%. The Australian Dollar (AUD) was already under modest pressure after softer-than-expected Australian inflation data released earlier this week.