US Dollar/Japanese Yen FX Spot Rate

The Japanese yen is the world's premier funding currency. Because of Japan's very low interest rates, investors borrow in yen to buy higher-yielding assets abroad, a practice known as the carry trade. This makes the yen a barometer of global risk appetite: it weakens when risk appetite is strong and strengthens as a safe haven when markets panic. It is also highly sensitive to the gap between Japanese and US bond yields and to Bank of Japan policy.