Bloomberg report on comments from Nobuo Ichikawa of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking

  • Yen weakening on back of comments boosting expectations of further easing by the Bank of Japan at its January meeting (28-29th) (For example the comment in the Wall Street Journal earlier)
  • Buyers of USD/JPY taking profit on their short positions

Hmmmm, yeah well there is a shred of accuracy in these comments, and no doubt some of the buying is profit taking on shorts.

But, with all due respect, it sounds like a fitting of the story to what has happened.

There is a broader rally occurring, equities for example (US after noon bounce leading the way and the Nikkei, for example, following on). Oil is plunging further, slightly better there too. AUD, NZD higher. An improvement in mood today, maybe short lived. So, yen eases back a little.