An already elevated Japanese Yen didn’t rise much further Friday despite news of a three-year peak for domestic inflation. The official Consumer Price Index rise came in at 1.5%- its strongest showing since March, 2017. It edged past January’s 1.4% gain too. The ‘core’ measure which strips out the volatile effects of food prices rose 1% and the rate without both food and energy came in at 0.5%. CPI is clearly heading in the direction which the Bank of Japan would like, after years of extreme stimulus directed to this end. However, it remains well short of the official 2% target rate, and the BoJ has said that that ... (full story)