Yen Drops from Four-Month High on Overprice Speculations

The Japanese yen, which was rallying intensively against all majors after a wave of risk aversion struck markets last week, dropped today as Japanese importers sold the currency led by speculations that after this week’s rally, the yen would be overpriced.

The yen lost today versus all 16 most traded currencies after a Japanese government official affirmed that the current volatility and extreme valuation of the national currency would be unfavorable, stopping immediately the yen’s rally, as investors speculate that the Japanese government may eventually intervene to control further gains of the Asian currency. After speculations appeared last week that the global slump would be deeper and longer, yesterday, the International Monetary Fund predicted a revised global growth for 2010, with rather optimistic figures, encouraging traders to return to higher-yielding options in stocks and in the currency market, consequently damping demand for refuge currencies like the yen and the greenback.

Currency analysts point on charts that the yen’s rally was haste and sharp, and even if being supported by fundamental factors, a correction is a natural consequence after an intense climb. Тhe speculations regarding importers selling the yen to profit also added to the yen’s rally to ease and post the first day of losses since last week’s U.S. jobs report.