Japanese steelmaker says USD/JPY may fall to 100 on geopolitical concerns

JFE Holdings CEO, Eiji Hayashida, says at a briefing earlier today

Hayashida is CEO of the fifth largest steelmaker in the world, and he says that the company must be prepared for yen to rise to 100 against the dollar amid geopolitical risks.

The rest of his comments were more centered around the costs associated to his business after the US imposed steel tariffs in March. He noted that the volume of Japanese exports has fallen since the tariffs implementation.

I’m guessing he’s more concerned about a potential full-blown trade war with China and US failing to make any notable progress and they certainly don’t seem anywhere near to finding a solution now than they did a couple of weeks back.

But the fact that Hayashida has the thinking to project a more conservative outlook shows the sort of “deflationary mindset” that is imprinted in businesses in Japan – and goes to show what a tough task it is for the BOJ to change that perception.