The Japanese yen would have been expected to weaken on the Bank of Japan’s cautious policy update, but instead it defended its modest gains against the dollar, as traders deemed trade war fears more important the ultraloose BOJ status quo. The yen is not just any currency, but one of the world’s favorite havens in times of volatility and uncertainty. On Friday, the U.S. announced new tariffs on Chinese imports, and in turn China promised to retaliate, sending ripples through currency markets. Fears over trade wars stem from the potential hit global growth. “U.S. and China ‘tariff’ cries usually mean that it’s time to buy the yen,” wrote Viraj Patel, FX strategist at ING earlier. With more tit-for-tat trade rhetoric on deck, “expect dollar-yen topside to run out of steam,” Patel said. The greenback dipped a modest 0.1% against the yen, buying ¥110.55, compared with ¥110.63 late Thursday in New York, not a big move, but nonetheless notable given the central banking backdrop.via