JPY Tumbles on N.Korean Nuclear Test

The foreign exchange market remained confined within a narrow range at the start of the week amid holiday-thinned trading with the US and UK markets closed. The yen fell sharply overnight as a result of heightened geopolitical risk following reports of North Korea testing nuclear weapons, prompting a slide in the yen to the 95.18-level.

The US market re-opens on Tuesday with the economic calendar consisting of the March Case-Shiller home price index, May Richmond Fed manufacturing and the May Conference Board’s consumer confidence survey. The Case-Shiller home price index is estimated to decline by 1.8% in March, compared with a 2.2% fall in the previous month while falling by 18.5% on an annualized basis versus an 18.6% fall a year earlier. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence survey in May is seen improving slightly to 42.0, up from 39.2 in April.