• Japan’s intervention spurs volatility in yen pairs, usual action elsewhere in FX market

• Commodities enjoy lower volatility as geopolitical tensions subside

• Equities at neutral volatility levels during earnings season, Bitcoin volatility picks up

Volatility in yen crosses has exploded on the back of a suspected Japanese intervention. Moreover, apart from dollar/yen, other dollar pairs are trading in the middle of their volatility range ahead of the Fed decision on Wednesday and NFP report on Friday.

Volatility in the commodity space has also dropped, particularly in oil, as developments in the Middle East have been tilting towards a de-escalation. Meanwhile, gold and silver have also been relatively quiet lately as safe haven demand seems to be waning.

Turning to risky assets, volatility in the US stock indices has eased up a little bit. For now, it appears that equities are caught in the crossfire between stronger-than-expected earnings and fewer rate cuts by the Fed. Interestingly, the JP225 index is experiencing a rather volatile period, potentially feeling the blues from the speculation around the Japanese FX intervention.

In the meantime, Bitcoin volatility has ticked up a little bit as the king of cryptos extends its recent slide.