Currencies

The yen will weaken because the global economy is growing, says strategist

Key Points
  • Japan's currency will weaken as global growth continues, says Eric Robertsen of Standard Chartered.
  • Japan is unlikely to hit its inflation target of 2 percent by 2019, he said.
Higher yields are not helping emerging markets: expert
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Higher yields are not helping emerging markets: expert

The Japanese yen is expected to weaken amid good global growth, said Standard Chartered Bank's head of global macro strategy and foreign exchange research.

He added that the country is unlikely to hit its inflation target of 2 percent by 2019.

"We don't expect much yen strength even in the context of a weaker dollar," Eric Robertsen told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Monday.

"Growth is good — they are benefiting from good global growth, good regional growth. But there's a lack of inflation," he said, noting that Japan's inflation rate net of food and energy is below 1 percent.

With growth, financial markets are stabilized, and the yen generally doesn't draw as much investment when markets are stable. However, if geopolitical worries or sustained weakness in stock markets were to come about, then the yen may benefit, Robertsen added.

Kuroda wants loose monetary policy

In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Japan's central bank governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the Bank of Japan must continue "very strong accommodative monetary policy" until the 2 percent inflation target is reached. He hopes that happens in fiscal year 2019.

But the Japanese currency may strengthen if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has suffered plunging approval ratings in the wake of a deepening land sale scandal, leaves office.

"In that scenario — I would call it a worst-case scenario — the yen would probably strengthen quite a bit," Robertsen said.

Since he took office, Abe has been aggressively pro-growth, advocating monetary easing and fiscal stimulus — policies Kuroda also supports, but which lead to a depreciating yen.