The Japanese yen was a choppy mess and net loser this week as traders were battling between coronavirus headlines from Japan, global risk sentiment and a cautious tone from the Bank of Japan.

Japanese Headlines and Economic data

Monday:

Japan Indices of Tertiary Industry Activity: -2.1% m/m in May

The Japanese yen slid lower to open the week as risk sentiment was off to a positive start, possibly off of the weekend headline that Trump finally wore a mask. And it’s likely the news of Pfizer, BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine getting FDA’s ‘fast track’ status brought in risk-on bulls as well.

Tuesday:

The Japanese yen was a net loser on the session, possibly on the stimulus news (Japan approves 2.2B JPY emergency aid for flood-hit regions), or the positive risk-on sentiment during the U.S. session sparked by positive equity earnings headlines (Dow rises for a third straight day, rallies more than 500 points as Caterpillar leads)

Wednesday:

Japan manufacturers’ mood pinned near 11-year lows as pandemic hammers global demand

BOJ keeps policy steady, sticks to cautious recovery view

BOJ: Japan GDP to shrink 4.7% in fiscal 2020

Tokyo Olympics at risk if coronavirus mutates, gets stronger: Japan adviser

Tokyo raises coronavirus alert level to highest as infections resurge

Thursday:

The Japanese yen moved broadly lower on the session despite a general risk aversion lean on U.S.-China tensions (U.S. Weighs Sweeping Travel Ban on Chinese Communist Party Members) and weak U.S. employment data (U.S. Weekly jobless claims rise by more than 1 million for 16th straight week), possibly on more negative COVID-19 updates from Japan (Japan reports over 600 new virus cases, highest in 3 months)

Friday:

Tokyo reports record 293 new cases of coronavirus