The Japanese Yen (JPY) maintained its bid tone through the first half of the European session on Thursday (3/20) amid bets that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will continue to raise interest rates this year, as strong wage growth could boost consumer spending. This, in turn, could contribute to a pickup in inflation and give the BoJ some room to tighten its policy further. The resulting narrowing of interest rate differentials between Japan and its peers continued to support the lower-yielding JPY.

Furthermore, uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's trade policies and geopolitical risks turned out to be other factors supporting the JPY's safe-haven status. This further contributed to the USD/JPY pair's intraday slide to the 148.00 range, though a modest US Dollar (USD) uptick helped limit further losses. Meanwhile, expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates several times this year kept a lid on the USD and the pair.(Newsmaker23)

Source: FXstreet