The Japanese Yen (JPY) continues losing ground through the Asian session on Friday and drops to a nearly two-week low against its American counterpart in the last hour. Hopes for the potential de-escalation of trade war between the US and China remain supportive of a positive risk tone, which, in turn, is seen denting demand for the safe-haven JPY. Adding to this, the emergence of some US Dollar (USD) buying lifts the USD/JPY pair further beyond mid-143.00s.

Meanwhile, government data showed that consumer inflation in Tokyo Japan's capital city – accelerated sharply in April and reaffirms market bets for more interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). On the other hand, Federal Reserve (Fed) officials showed willingness for potential interest rate cuts. This might keep a lid on any meaningful upside for the USD and help limit deeper losses for the lower-yielding JPY, warranting caution for the USD/JPY bulls.

Data released earlier this Friday showed that Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew 3.5% year-on-year in April from 2.9% in the prior month. Adding to this, Tokyo core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 3.4% YoY, or a two-year high, compared to the 3.2% expected and sharply higher than the 2.4% in March.
Furthermore, a gauge that excludes both fresh food and fuel costs and is closely watched by the BoJ rose 3.1% in April from a year earlier after a 2.2% rise in the previous month. This points to broadening inflation in Japan and gives the BoJ headroom to raise interest rates further after a 50 basis point rate hike earlier this year.

Source: Fxstreet