Japanese Yen Plummets on Weak Growth Report
February 17, 2009
Today saw the release of Japan’s Q4 GDP, a report which noted that the economy shrank by 3.3% over the quarter. This represents the weakest period of growth since 1974 and results in the 2008 growth figure highlighting a contraction rate of -12.7% y/y. The decline emphasis just how hard the Japanese economy is being hit by the global slowdown. This release of the GDP result also coincided with the resignation of the Japanese Finance Minister Nakagawa after and incident during a press conference at the G7 meeting at the weekend. Overall the Japanese Yen fell across the board as it shunned its risk aversion label. Worthy of note was the US Dollars gain of 1.3%.