Yen slides despite BoJ hike as dollar pares gains; gold extends rally

The Japanese Yen notably weakened even after the Bank of Japan raised rates, while the US Dollar gave back some of its earlier strength, allowing gold to extend its rally and crude oil to finish lower.

Yen struggles amid central bank action

• The Japanese Yen weakened considerably, closing its worst week since October 2025, despite the Bank of Japan (BoJ) raising its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%, its highest since 1995. The hike carried dovish dissents that cooled bets on a back-to-back move, and the currency fell anyway: USD/JPY advanced sharply on Friday, trading around 156.95, up 0.63%, after reaching a daily high of 158.06. Japan conducted an FX rate check during the session, according to a report.
• The US Dollar Index resumed the rally it halted on Thursday, running to its highest level since late July before giving the move back, trading just above 100.30. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid supported the recent rate hike, noting that "recent data suggest inflation trending above 3%."
• The British Pound experienced volatility, retracing from a daily high of 1.3375 after an initial pop on upbeat UK retail sales data, as concerns over an oil supply shock reignited inflation fears.
• The Euro posted a small gain versus the US Dollar, extending Thursday’s modest recovery and attempting to stabilize after recent FOMC volatility. The Swiss Franc also gained against the US Dollar as the Greenback lost momentum.
• The Kiwi Dollar turned negative against the US Dollar, with NZD/USD down 0.11% on the day, putting 0.5700 under pressure and giving back Thursday's GDP-driven bounce.
• The Canadian dollar stayed under pressure, with USD/CAD holding around 1.4000, up 0.10% on the day, as the US-Canada rate gap kept the pair bid.

Commodities diverge as US yields rise

• Gold (XAU/USD) extended its gains on Friday, up 0.89% to around $4,381, reclaiming its footing as oil prices eased. It stalled just under $4,400, the level that capped it again.
• Silver (XAG/USD) traded on the front foot for a second straight day, reaching session highs above $67.00 after bouncing from lows near $62.00 earlier in the week.
• WTI crude oil on the November contract finished lower, down $1.64 to $95.60, after finishing last week at $95.94 — MUFG noted prices fell as markets reassessed the supply risks tied to the US-Iran war and the regional chokepoints that had driven the barrel for two weeks. US 10-year Treasury yields rose back to 5% amid a global tightening wave.

Key economic releases

• The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%, from 1.00%, as expected.
• UK Retail Sales month-over-month came in stronger than expected at 0.5%, surpassing the forecast of -0.2% and the previous -0.5%.
• US industrial production recorded 0.0% growth, missing the expectation of 0.3%.

Market snapshot & outlook

ForexCommand's metrics at the close showed an MRS of 62, a CTS of 76, and the FSI at 64 (Greed). The Japanese Yen led session strength for 25% of the minutes — that ranks momentum across 28 pairs, not the yen against the dollar, which is where it lost ground and where the wires headlined it as the day's weakest. Markets are shut until Sunday's open.