Yen Rises As Strong Tokyo CPI Spurs BoJ Rate Hike Bets

The Japanese yen strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, after data showed that Tokyo's faster-than-expected inflation bolstered speculation that the Bank of Japan might raise interest rates next month.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications that the Tokyo consumer price inflation advanced to 2.6 percent in November from 1.8 percent in October. Core inflation that excludes fresh food climbed to 2.2 percent from 1.8 percent.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported that industrial production expanded at a faster pace of 3.0 percent in October and marked the second consecutive increase. However, the rate was weaker than the expected growth of 3.8 percent. Output was up 1.6 percent in September.

In October, retail sales grew 1.6 percent from a year ago, which was more than double the 0.7 percent growth posted in September, the METI said in a separate report. Still, this was slower than the 2.1 percent forecast.

Elsewhere, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported that the jobless rate rose marginally to a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in October from 2.4 percent in September.

The number of unemployed decreased 50,000 from the previous year to 1.7 million.

Another report showed that the decline in housing starts worsened more than expected in October. Housing starts were down 2.9 percent on year after falling 0.6 percent in September, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism said. Economists had forecast a 2.0 percent annual fall.

Construction orders received by 50 big contractors surged 44.6 percent annually, in contrast to the 21.3 percent decrease in September.

Asian stock markets traded lower, as traders react to a slew of economic data from Japan and manufacturing data from South Korea. The developments in the Middle East are also hurting market sentiment.

In the Asian trading today, the yen rose to near 2-month highs of 158.24 against the euro, 190.33 against the pound and 170.01 against the Swiss franc, from yesterday's closing quotes of 159.92, 192.26 and 171.56, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 154.00 against the euro, 184.00 against the pound and 167.00 against the franc.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the yen advanced to nearly a 1-1/2-month high of 149.76 and nearly a 2-month high of 107.04 from Thursday's closing quotes of 151.54 and 108.13, respectively. The yen may test resistance around 144.00 against the greenback and 104.00 against the loonie.

Against the Australia and the New Zealand dollars, the yen climbed to more than 2-month highs of 97.53 and 88.47 from yesterday's closing quotes of 98.49 and 89.23, respectively. On the upside, 96.00 against the aussie and 87.00 against the kiwi are seen as the next resistance levels for the yen.

Looking ahead, Germany's unemployment data for November, U.K. mortgage approvals for October and Eurozone inflation data for November are slated for release in the European session.

In the New York session, Canada GDP data for September, Canada budget balance for September and U.S. Federal Reserve's monthly balance sheet are set to be released.