USD/JPY extends the range-bound theme around 149.50 ahead of the US housing data

The USD/JPY pair maintains the multi-session range-bound theme unchanged around the mid-149.00s during the early Asian session on Monday. In the absence of top-tier economic data released from the Japanese docket this week, the USD/JPY pair remains at the mercy of USD price dynamics. The pair currently trades near 149.53, gaining 0.04% for the day.

The minutes of the November FOMC meeting revealed that Fed members needed more evidence that inflation was cooling before they could be convinced that it was tracking sustainably down to 2%. The less hawkish stance from the Federal Reserve (Fed) exerts downward pressure on the US Treasury bond yields and weighs on the Greenback.

On Friday, the US S&P Global Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.4 from 50.0, worse than the expectation of 49.8 while the Services PMI climbed to 50.8 from 50.6 the previous month, above the market expectation of 50.4. Finally, the Composite PMI remained steady at 50.7 in November.

On the other hand, the Japanese inflation figures suggest that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is unlikely to seek an exit from its ultra-expansionary monetary policy for the time being. On Friday, the National Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October rose by 3.3% YoY from 3.0% in September. The National CPI ex Food, Energy eased to 4% YoY from 4.2% in the previous reading. The National CPI ex Fresh Food arrived at 2.9% versus 2.8% prior.

Market players will monitor the US housing data on Tuesday. Later this week, the highlight will be the US growth numbers on Wednesday and Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) inflation figures on Thursday. The US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Annualized for the third quarter (Q3) is expected to grow to 5%. The US PCE for October is estimated to drop from 0.4% to 0.1%. These figures could give a clear direction to the USD/JPY pair.