CurrencyShares Japanese Yen (NYSEArca: FXY) is threatening to fall to a new 52-week low as the country prepares for a key election this weekend. The currency ETF has been getting crushed on expectations the frontrunner for prime minister will compel the Bank of Japan to unleash further monetary easing to support the economy.
On Thursday, FXY traded as low as $117.29 a share, close to this year’s low of $117.13 set on March 21.
The favorite to become Japan’s next prime minister, former PM Shinzo Abe, has pledged to pressure the Bank of Japan to launch unlimited monetary easing to revive the economy. A weaker yen also helps the country’s exporters. [The Perfect ETF for Higher Japanese Stocks and a Weaker Yen]
“In an anticipation of this shift, the yen has been getting creamed,” reports Joe Weisenthal at Business Insider.
FXY has dropped 5% the past month. The currency ETF tracks the movement of the yen versus the U.S. dollar.
“Voters will go to the polls on Sunday in parliamentary elections. And if recent polls are correct, they should clear the path for Shinzo Abe to become Japan’s next prime minster in a coalition government,” CNNMoney reports. “Should Abe return to become the seventh, he will inherit an economy in recession, according to the government’s latest estimates.”