Yen: Speculative Bets Reach Record Highs

The Japanese yen posted strong gains early Friday as USDJPY jumped nearly 80 pips initially in the early hours of the European trading session and closed with over 2.0% gains by closing time on rumors that the BoJ was considering adopting negative rates in its lending programs for banks. A report from Bloomberg showed that people familiar with the BoJ noted that the central bank was considering negative rates through the BoJ's Stimulating Bank Lending facility, which currently offers loans to banks at zero percent interest. The new policy would mean that the BoJ would pay commercial banks that borrow money from the central bank in order to lend to businesses and that is in addition to the policy already in place which charges banks for excess reserves parked with the BoJ. The yen slipped across the board following the reports. The Bank of Japan will be meeting on April 27-28 to decide on its next monetary policy moves.

The European Central Bank published the results from its Survey of Professional Forecasters report on Friday. The survey results showed that analysts expect inflation and growth in the euro area to remain weak into 2016 and early 2017. Analysts forecast inflation to average around 0.30% in 2016, well below the previous forecasts of 0.70% in January, while inflation is expected to average 1.30% next year, down from previous forecasts of 1.40%. The data also showed that the ECB could face challenges in reviving inflation in the region. Real GDP growth in the eurozone is expected to average 1.50% in 2016 down from the previous forecasts of 1.70%, while growth in GDP is expected to rise modestly to 1.60% in 2018.