The "sharply undervalued" yen is poised for a revival even after Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda surprised markets by warning of further potential policy easing, according to UBS Global Wealth Management.
The fund manager, among the biggest in the world, sees the yen gaining 5 percent to ¥105 per dollar in the next 12 months. Japan's accelerating wage growth is bound to spur inflation, the company reckons, even as Kuroda said Tuesday that additional stimulus may be considered if the exchange rate affects the country's economy.
Floundering world economic momentum could also see the yen benefit from safe haven demand, UBS GWM strategists, including Thomas Flury, head of currency research, said in a note to clients on Friday. They said Japan's macro position is healthy and, despite Kuroda's remarks, forecast that the BOJ will start normalizing monetary policy in early 2020, even before achieving its 2 percent inflation target.