The EUR/JPY currency cross is building up some strong momentum. It has been ranging in the low 180.70s so far during the Asian Tuesday session. In part, this movement is a reaction to the Eurozone’s inflation figures expected next week. In particular, it eagerly awaits Eurostat’s release of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) on 2 December 2025. Traders are looking extremely closely to this data to make their next move in the market.
Recent inflation figures from other core Eurozone key countries—France, Spain and Italy—show that we are still far from any significant upward inflationary pressure. This news comes on the heels of German inflation figures that shocked analysts with higher than expected readings. The HICP, which measures changes in the prices of a representative basket of goods and services within the European Monetary Union, is critical for assessing overall inflation trends across member states. The index applies an internationally harmonized methodology, allowing for unfaltering calculations and fair, like-for-like comparisons.
The YoY reading of the HICP, measure used to calculate the inflation rate, compares prices now with prices a year ago – in this case, the same month last year. The consensus forecast for next week’s HICP release is 2.5, an uptick from last month’s realized 2.4. This long-awaited data is crucial for market participants who are wary of making directional bets ahead of the figures released.
The EUR/JPY cross is finding some demand as well, recovering from a four-day low around the psychological 180.00 level. This is despite spot prices having gone up by almost 0.10% today alone. This rise underscores a risk-on tone prevalent throughout markets, including diminished demand for regular safe-haven assets like the Japanese Yen (JPY). Consequently, the JPY has continued to drift lower, thereby strengthening the EUR/JPY cross.
In other news, Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama raised the red flag on the recent unpredictable jolts in the forex market. She confronted the problem of the speedy depreciation of the JPY directly. Katayama was adamant about the need to orient these movements as not being fundamentally anti-capitalist. It is their job to warn against that kind of dangerous volatility, he said. This comment underlines Japan’s continued watchfulness towards rapid currency movements, particularly in a worldwide economic environment defined by instability.
As traders continue to assess market conditions, the focus remains firmly on upcoming data releases that could shape future currency movements. So in advance of the Eurozone inflation numbers coming out, most are staying on the sidelines looking to take the next big trades.