USDJPY Exchange Rate

Producer prices in Japan were up 2.3 percent on year in March, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar weakened against its major counterparts in the New York session on Tuesday, after the release of weaker-than-expected flash PMI data for the month of April.

A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed a substantial increase in new home sales in the U.S. in the month of March. The Commerce Department said new home sales spiked by 8.8 percent to an annual rate of 693,000 in March after plunging by 5.1 percent to a revised rate of 637,000 in February.

Antipodean currencies such as Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as Asian stock markets traded lower amid ongoing concerns over the tensions in the middle-east with reports of Israel retaliating to last weekend's attacks.

The Dollar Index, a popular gauge of the Greenback’s value against a basket of 6 major currencies, steadied to close at 106.11 (106.15 Friday).

Will US GDP boost the dollar index?; Yen looks steady ahead of BoJ decision; Eurozone flash PMIs may halt EUR/USD’s bearish actions

As we head into the second quarter earnings report season, the U.S. equity market is poised to capture significant attention. Recent geopolitical events, particularly the unconfirmed reports of an explosion in Iran's third-largest city last Friday, have injected volatility into commodities prices and bolstered the appeal of safe-haven assets like the U.S. dollar and Japanese Yen.

The market was roiled by unconfirmed reports of explosions in Iran, Iraq, and Syria, adding to the already tense atmosphere following Iran's recent attack on Israel over the weekend. Anticipation of potential retaliation from Israel contributed to heightened nervousness in the markets throughout the week.