{"id":21088,"date":"2025-04-21T08:50:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T08:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/?p=21088"},"modified":"2025-04-21T08:50:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T08:50:26","slug":"yen-gains-as-japan-flags-trump-auto-tariffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/analysis\/yen-gains-as-japan-flags-trump-auto-tariffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Yen Gains as Japan Flags Trump Auto Tariffs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/03\/yen7-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17045\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>USD\/JPY drops 0.89%, closing at 140.797 after hitting a seven-month low of 140.615.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Japan expresses concern over new U.S. auto tariffs, calling them inconsistent with the 2019 bilateral trade deal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Traders eye upcoming U.S.\u2013Japan currency talks, raising speculation of yen intervention pressure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>The dollar slipped sharply against the yen on Monday, with USD\/JPY falling to 140.615, its lowest level in seven months, as fresh political tensions between Tokyo and Washington triggered renewed demand for the Japanese currency. The pair closed at 140.797, down nearly 0.9%, amid mounting market speculation that Japan could soon be pressured by the U.S. to support the yen in light of Washington&#8217;s ballooning trade deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">U.S. President Donald Trump&#39;s desire for a stronger yen against the dollar is almost certain to figure into trade negotiations with Japan underway in Washington, but analysts say any effort to shift the currencies is fraught with risks for both sides. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M24HIfSzxZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/M24HIfSzxZ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EovZdzPGFr\">pic.twitter.com\/EovZdzPGFr<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Reuters (@Reuters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Reuters\/status\/1913165624169165292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 18, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The move accelerated after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament that Japan held \u201cgrave concern\u201d over the <a href=\"https:\/\/ca.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/japan-voice-concern-over-us-061537197.html\">25% automobile tariffs<\/a> recently announced by President Trump\u2014tariffs that appear to contradict prior Section 232 assurances from the 2019 U.S.\u2013Japan trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Political Tensions Resurface, Currency in Focus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While Japan reaffirmed it has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/japan-voice-concern-over-us-trade-deal-inconsistency-pm-ishiba-says-2025-04-21\/#:~:text=During%20Trump's%20first%20term%20as,of%20higher%20U.S.%20car%20duties.\">no plans to withdraw from the 2019 deal<\/a>, Ishiba emphasised the lack of consistency between that agreement and Trump\u2019s latest actions. The auto sector is a cornerstone of Japan\u2019s export economy, and the revived tariffs have reignited fears of a breakdown in trade cooperation, particularly as Tokyo begins new talks with Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Japan\u2019s top negotiator Ryosei Akazawa recently met with U.S. officials in Washington, and Finance Minister Kato is set to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week. Currency exchange rates will be a focal point of those discussions, especially as the <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rwlf13mLOv\">yen trades near intervention territory<\/a>. Analysts speculate that the U.S. may seek Japan\u2019s help to strengthen the yen to narrow the trade gap\u2014putting additional policy pressure on the Bank of Japan just ahead of its scheduled meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Technical Analysis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The 15-minute chart of USDJPY reveals a sharp bearish breakdown, with price tumbling from the 142.00 region to a low of 140.614. After consolidating near the 142.70 resistance area earlier, momentum sharply shifted on April 19th as bearish pressure mounted and price sliced through key moving averages. This confirms a clear trend reversal from the prior tight range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/03\/image-23-1024x440.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21089\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Picture: USDJPY dives below 141.00 as bearish momentum takes hold, as seen on the <\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/vtmarketsapp.onelink.me\/CD7D\/240525WA\">VT Markets app<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MACD (12,26,9) supports the bearish bias, having crossed below the signal line decisively and pushed into negative territory. However, the histogram is now turning positive, hinting at a possible short-term relief rally or pause in selling. Yet, with price still well below the 30-period moving average and trend momentum intact, any recovery is likely to face resistance near the 141.20\u2013141.50 zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With USD\/JPY now trading well below the 142.00 handle, the next support zone lies near 140.00, a key psychological and technical level. A break below could open a path toward 138.80, last tested in August 2023. Resistance is now at 141.60\u2013142.00, but recovery seems unlikely in the near term unless <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/W40XVQ9YXA\">BOJ <\/a>or U.S. officials deliver a coordinated policy signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/trade-now\/\">Create your live VT Markets account<\/a><\/strong><strong> and <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.vtmarkets.com\/login?_gl=1*1azgbap*_gcl_au*NjE5NTE3MjY4LjE3NDQ2MDA3NDI.*_ga*MTY4OTgwNTU5Mi4xNzM2NzQ2MTgy*_ga_J26NL1ZVX7*czE3NDQ5NDQ0NTYkbzEyMCRnMCR0MTc0NDk0NDQ1NiRqNjAkbDAkaDA.\">start trading<\/a><\/strong><strong> now.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ninja tumbles amid Tokyo\u2019s \u201cgrave concern\u201d over U.S. tariff moves; trade talks and currency tensions expected to dominate the week. &#8211; vtmarkets.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":17045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[45],"class_list":["post-21088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-yen"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}