USD/JPY Forecast and News
Japanese Yen bounces off daily low, keeps the red around mid-155.00s against USD
The Japanese Yen rallied on Wednesday amid speculations of another intervention by authorities. The momentum, however, runs out of steam on the back of the divergent BoJ-Fed policy outlooks. Traders now look to the second-tier US data for some impetus ahead of the NFP report on Friday.
Latest Japanese Yen News
USD/JPY Technical Overview
From a technical perspective, the overnight bounce from the 200-period Simple Moving Average on the 4-hour chart and the subsequent move beyond the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of this week's sharp pullback from a multi-decade high favor bullish traders. That said, mixed oscillators on hourly/daily charts warrant some caution before positioning for any further intraday appreciating move, suggesting that the USD/JPY pair might confront some resistance near the 50% Fibo. level, around the 156.55 region. Some follow-through buying, however, will suggest that the recent corrective slide from the all-time peak has run its course and pave the way for additional gains.
On the flip side, weakness back below the 155.70 area could drag the USD/JPY pair back towards the 155.00 psychological mark en route to the 154.50-154.45 support zone. Failure to defend the latter might expose the Asian session low, around the 153.00 round figure, with some intermediate support near the 154.00 mark and the 153.60 region.
Fundamental Overview
The Japanese Yen (JPY) comes under heavy selling pressure on Thursday and moves away from over a two-week high touched the previous day, in reaction to a possible intervention by Japanese authorities for a second time this week. Investors seem convinced that the wide gap in interest rates between Japan and the United States (US) will remain for some time. This, along with a generally positive tone around the equity markets, turn out to be key factors undermining the safe-haven JPY.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell downplayed speculations about any further interest rate hikes despite sticky inflation. This keeps the US Dollar (USD) bulls on the defensive near a two-week low touched last Friday and caps gains for the USD/JPY pair. Traders now look to the US macro data – Challenger Job Cuts, the usual Weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Trade Balance data for some impetus, though the focus remains on the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) on Friday.
USD/JPY Big Picture
USD/JPY Bullish Themes
USD/JPY Bearish Themes
Latest JPY Analysis
Editors' picks
EUR/USD holds gains above 1.0700 as USD struggles ahead of data
EUR/USD is posting small gains above 1.0700 in the European session on Thursday. The pair remains underpinned by a sustained US Dollar weakness, in the aftermath of the Fed policy announcements and ahead of more US employment data.
GBP/USD stays firm above 1.2500 amid US Dollar weakness
GBP/USD is consolidating the rebound above 1.2500 in European trading on Thursday. The pair's uptick is supported by a broadly weakness US Dollar on dovish Fed signals. A mixed market mood could cap the GBP/USD upside ahead of mid-tier US data.
Japanese Yen bounces off daily low, keeps the red around mid-155.00s against USD
The Japanese Yen rallied on Wednesday amid speculations of another intervention by authorities. The momentum, however, runs out of steam on the back of the divergent BoJ-Fed policy outlooks. Traders now look to the second-tier US data for some impetus ahead of the NFP report on Friday.
Gold price trades with modest losses amid positive risk tone, downside seems limited
Gold price edges lower amid an uptick in the US bond yields, though the downside seems cushioned. A positive risk tone is seen as another factor undermining demand for the safe-haven precious metal.
WTI drops to seven-week lows below $80.00 on surprise build crude inventories
WTI prices loses momentum near seven-week lows of $79.20 on Thursday. A surprise build in US crude stocks weighs on black gold prices. WTI prices edge lower amid signs of easing Middle East geopolitical tensions. The US employment reports on Friday will be closely watched.
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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.