USD/JPY Forecast and News
USD/JPY tumbles to 156.00 amid risk-aversion, technical breakdown
USD/JPY is off the lows but under heavy selling pressure on the 156.00 level in European trading on Wednesday. Souring risk sentiment and a technical breakdown has fuelled the USD/JPY meltdown, as Japanese intervention risks loom.
Latest Japanese Yen News
USD/JPY Technical Overview
USD/JPY trades around 158.40 on Wednesday. The daily chart analysis shows that the pair lies below its 9-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), suggesting downward momentum in the short term. This signals that it may be prudent to hold off on buying until the trend shows signs of reversal.
Additionally, the momentum indicator, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI), is below the 50 level, indicating a bearish bias. However, a further increase in the RSI could weaken the bearish sentiment.
Immediate resistance is observed around the nine-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 159.20, followed by the lower boundary of the ascending channel at 160.60. Returning to trade within the ascending channel would likely improve sentiment for the USD/JPY pair, with a potential target toward the upper boundary of the channel near 164.00.
On the downside, the USD/JPY pair could find key support around the psychological level of 158.00. A break below this level could exert pressure on the pair, navigating the region around June's low at 154.55.
Fundamental Overview
The Japanese Yen (JPY) recovers its intraday losses on Wednesday. The USD/JPY pair may limit its downside due to improved US Treasury yields. Traders remain vigilant amid suspicions of intervention by Japanese authorities. Data released on Tuesday showed that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) entered the foreign exchange market on consecutive trading days last Thursday and Friday.
The BoJ's current account balance data, released on Tuesday, indicates an anticipated liquidity drain of approximately ¥2.74 trillion ($17.3 billion) from the financial system on Wednesday due to various government sector transactions. This follows an earlier forecast of a ¥600 billion drain, according to Nikkei Asia.
The US Dollar received support from a hawkish speech from Federal Reserve (Fed) Board of Governors member Dr. Adriana Kugler on Tuesday. Dr. Kugler indicated that if upcoming data does not confirm that inflation is moving toward the 2% target, it may be appropriate to maintain current rates for a while longer.
Traders await key US economic data and the Fed Beige Book on Wednesday, alongside speeches from Fed officials Thomas Barkin and Christopher Waller.
USD/JPY Big Picture
USD/JPY Bullish Themes
USD/JPY Bearish Themes
Latest JPY Analysis
Editors' picks
EUR/USD rises toward 1.0950 amid intense USD selling
EUR/USD is rising toward 1.0950 in Wednesday's European trading. The US Dollar resumes the downside amid heightened September Fed rate cut bets, supporting the pair. The focus remains on the mid-tier US data and Fedspeak
GBP/USD scales fresh 2024 highs above 1.3000 after UK CPI data
GBP/USD trades above 1.3000, refreshing 2024 highs in the European session on Wednesday. The data from the UK showed that annual CPI inflation held steady at 2% in June. This reading alongside a broad US Dollar sell-off underpins the pair.
USD/JPY tumbles to 156.00 amid risk-aversion, technical breakdown
USD/JPY is off the lows but under heavy selling pressure on the 156.00 level in European trading on Wednesday. Souring risk sentiment and a technical breakdown has fuelled the USD/JPY meltdown, as Japanese intervention risks loom.
Gold rises on Kugler’s comments and Shanghai bets
Gold is rising as expectations firm of falling interest rates in the US – a positive for the precious metal. Fed’s Adriana Kugler says a combination of falling inflation and weakening labor market could force rate cut “later this year”.
WTI improves to near $80.00 due to declining US Oil stockpiles
WTI Oil price appreciates as the American Petroleum Institute (API) reports a decline in US Oil stockpiles. API Crude Oil stock fell by 4.4 million barrels for the previous week, against the expected decrease of 33K barrels. Oil prices struggled after the hawkish remarks from Fed member Dr. Adriana Kugler on Tuesday.
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USD/JPY YEARLY FORECAST
How could USD/JPY move this year? Our experts make a USD/JPY update forecasting the possible moves of the yen-dollar pair during the whole year.
USD/JPY FORECAST 2024
The Japanese Yen could receive support from the BoJ if it indicates a shift toward ending its ultra-loose monetary policy stance, potentially through a rate hike that would mark the end of seven years of negative rates. Governor Ueda and Deputy Governor Hino offered some comments about it in December. Rumors and speculations in that direction would trigger momentum for the Yen. Read more details about the forecast.
The divergence in monetary policy between the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan led the pair to test the multi-decade high near 152.00.
MOST INFLUENTIAL POLITICAL EVENTS IN 2024 FOR USD/JPY
There is a possibility that the BoJ might end its negative interest rate policy (NIRP) by raising the key rate to 0.00% in 2024. Some analysts anticipate the eventual end of YCC by January, while others believe it is more likely to occur during the second quarter. A significant challenge for the BoJ is to exit from NIRP without disrupting the economy.
Governor Kazuo Ueda has emphasized that any move will be carefully calculated, and the central bank will likely prepare the market for a change. This scenario is more likely to materialize if inflation in Japan remains above 3%.
Influential Institutions & People for the USD/JPY
The US Dollar Japanese Yen can be seriously affected by news or the decisions taken by two main central banks:
The Federal Reserve Bank (Fed)
On the other
FED Official Website, on Twitter and Facebook
The Bank of Japan (BOJ)
The Bank of Japan is the central bank of Japan and it's a juridical person established based on the Bank of Japan Act, nor being a government agency either a private corporation. The most important missions of the BOJ are the following: to issue and manage banknotes, to implement monetary policy and to ensure stability of the financial system. Almost all of the decisions are taken by the Policy Board, formed by a bunch of members working to provide currency and monetary control and setting the next moves that the central bank will take.
BOJ Official Website and on Twitter
Jerome Powell
Jerome Powell took office as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2018, for a four-year term ending in February 2022. His term as a member of the Board of Governors will expire January 31, 2028. Born in Washington D.C., he received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979. Powell served as an assistant secretary and as undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush. He also worked as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City. From 1997 through 2005, Powell was a partner at The Carlyle Group.
Jerome Powell Fed's Profile and Wikipedia
Kazuo Ueda
Kazuo Ueda is the 32nd and current Governor of the Bank of Japan. He is a professor and the dean of the business department at Kyoritsu Women's University in Tokyo and the external director at JGC Holdings Corp, an engineering company and at the state-owned Development Bank of Japan. The 71-year-old is widely seen as an expert on monetary policy but is seen as a surprise appointment by analysts. He was not even considered a dark-horse candidate. Ueda wasn’t really on their radar because the BOJ governor job has traditionally been assumed by a long-serving Finance Ministry bureaucrat or central bank official.
Ueda on Wikipedia's Profile
BOJ NEWS & ANALYSIS
FED NEWS & ANALYSIS
About USD/JPY
The USD/JPY (or US Dollar Japanese Yen) currency pair belongs to the group of 'Majors', a way to mention the most important pairs in the world. This group also includes the following currency pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD and USD/CAD. Japanese Yen has a low-interest rate and is normally used in carrying trades. This is the reason why is one of the most traded currencies worldwide. In this pair, the US Dollar is the base currency and the Japanese Yen is the counter currency. The pair represents American (from the United States of America) and Japanese economies.
Trading this currency pair is also known as trading the "ninja" or the "gopher", although this last name is more frequently used when referred to the GBP/JPY currency pair. The US Dollar Japanese Yen usually has a positive correlation with the following two pairs: USD/CHF and USD/CAD. The nature of this correlation is due to the fact that both currency pairs also use the US Dollar as the base currency. The value of the pair tends to be affected when the two main central banks of each country, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed), face serious interest rate differential.
Related pairs
GBP/USD
The GBP/USD (or Pound Dollar) currency pair belongs to the group of 'Majors', a way to mention the most important pairs worldwide. This group also includes the following currency pairs: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD and USD/CAD. The pair is also called 'The Cable', referring to the first Transatlantic cable that was crossing the Atlantic Ocean in order to connect Great Britain with the United States of America. This term was originated in the mid-19th century and it makes GBP/USD one of the oldest currency pairs in the world.
The popularity of the Pound Dollar is due to the fact that represents two strong economies: British and American (from the United States of America). The Cable is a closely watched and widely traded currency pair where the Pound is the base currency and the US Dollar is the counter currency. For that reason, all the macroeconomic data related to the United States and the United Kingdom affects the price of this pair. One of the events which affected most the volatility of the pound vs. dollar was Brexit.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD (or Euro Dollar) currency pair belongs to the group of 'Majors', a way to mention the most important pairs in the world. This group also includes the following currency pairs: GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD and USD/CAD. The popularity of Euro Dollar is due to the fact that it gathers two main economies: the European and American (from United States of America) ones. This is a widely traded currency pair where the Euro is the base currency and the US Dollar is the counter currency. Since the EUR/USD pair consists of more than half of all the trading volume worldwide in the Forex Market, it is almost impossible for a gap to appear, let alone a consequent breakaway gap in the opposite direction.
Normally, the EUR/USD is very quiet during the Asian session because economic data that affects the fundamentals of those currencies is released in either the European or U.S. session. Once traders in Europe get to their desks a flurry of activity hits the tape as they start filling customer orders and jockey for positions. At noon activity slows down as traders step out for lunch and then picks back up again as the U.S. comes online.