Asian shares rose on Friday while the yen was aiming for its best week in four months as strong inflation data from Tokyo had traders favouring an imminent rate hike from the Bank of Japan.
Most Asian currencies edged higher on Friday as the dollar weakened on persistent expectations of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in December, while the Japanese yen surged after hotter-than-expected inflation data from Tokyo.
The yellow metal was nursing some losses for the week after the announcement of an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. But heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine saw prices trim some weekly losses on Thursday and Friday.
The world’s largest crypto was hit with some profit-taking in the past week after failing to reach the coveted $100,000 level. But losses in Bitcoin were also limited by optimism over Trump’s picks for key regulatory roles, which portend less scrutiny against the industry.
Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.16% or 0.11 to $68.99 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February fell 0.12% or 0.09 to hit $72.69 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.97% or 25.91 to trade at $2,687.41 a troy ounce.
The Bank of Korea cut benchmark interest rates for a second straight meeting to 3.00%, an outcome only four of 38 economists polled by Reuters foresaw. The bank’s seven-member board voted five-two for the cut.
The yen weakened slightly through the Asia session. But at 151.59 per dollar, it is up 2.4% this week and has recovered losses suffered since the U.S. election. Markets see about a 55% chance the Bank of Japan hikes rates next month.
Gold prices fell slightly in Asian trade on Thursday after signs of sticky U.S. inflation and a strong economy sparked doubts over just how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
Trump’s administration wants to shift a bulk of crypto regulatory oversight to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Fox Business reported on Wednesday.
Asian shares fell on Thursday and the dollar firmed slightly as investors pondered U.S. data that showed progress in slowing inflation had stalled even as the economy remained resilient, while rising geopolitical worries kept risk sentiment in check.
