In the quiet hours before a pivotal U.S. inflation report, the Japanese yen climbed to its highest point in seven months, while the dollar retreated into cautious stillness. Currency markets, which run as much on anticipation as on fact, reflected a broader repositioning among global investors — away from dollar-denominated assets and toward the relative shelter of the yen. The moment captures something enduring about financial systems: that the space before a number is announced can move markets as powerfully as the number itself.