Japanese Yen:
1. According to the New York Times: Sources revealed that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on behalf of the Treasury Department, inquired with several banks about the cost of converting yen into dollars.
2. Jun Mimura, Japan's top foreign exchange official: Japan will take appropriate measures in the foreign exchange field in accordance with the Japan-U.S. joint statement. He will not comment on questions regarding foreign exchange intervention.
3. Minoru Kihara, Chief Cabinet Secretary: Japan will take appropriate action on the foreign exchange situation in accordance with the Japan-U.S. joint statement. He is closely monitoring market developments with a high degree of urgency.
4. Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan: Currency intervention may have limited effectiveness in sustainably curbing the yen's decline. The government must avoid interfering with the Bank of Japan's efforts to raise interest rates.
5. Satsuki Katayama, Finance Minister: Japan is closely monitoring market developments with a high degree of urgency. He will not comment on the foreign exchange market.
6. Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister: Japan will take necessary measures to deal with speculative activities in the market. If the ruling coalition fails to win a majority of seats in the House of Representatives election, I will resign immediately.
7. According to Japan's Jiji Press: Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stated that if the 2026 fiscal year budget is unlikely to be passed by parliament before the end of March, the government will prepare a temporary budget.
Other:
1. UK PMI data was better than expected, leading traders to reduce their bets on a Bank of England rate cut, favoring only one rate cut of 25 basis points in 2026.
2. The Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines stated that the central bank intervened in the foreign exchange market in the past few days, and the Philippine peso is unlikely to reach 60 pesos to the US dollar anytime soon.
3. The Reserve Bank of India: It will conduct open market operations, purchasing 500 billion rupees of government securities in two tranches on February 5th and February 12th.
4. According to a Reuters poll: Of 35 economists, 26 believe the Bank of Canada will keep interest rates unchanged throughout 2026 (compared to 18 of 29 economists in a December survey). A consensus among 35 economists predicts that the Bank of Canada will maintain its overnight interest rate at 2.25% on January 28.
5. Hong Kong media: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority believes there is limited room for further reductions in the prime lending rate.
