Investors growing increasingly bullish on the yen may have to re-examine their outlook if retail sales and industrial production figures due this week add to mounting evidence that the Japanese economy is slowing.

The currency — the best performer among its Group of 10 peers last year — started 2019 with a bang as money managers sought haven assets amid signs of slowing global growth.

Analysts from Deutsche Bank and Credit Agricole to Commerzbank predicted the yen will strengthen to as much as 100 per greenback this year, driven in part by expectations that the Bank of Japan will pivot away from its massive monetary stimulus program.