Japanese yen declines on BoJ’s Ueda cautious remarks

The Japanese yen is lower on Monday. In the European session, USD/JPY is trading at 155.08, up 0.51% on the day.

Ueda says ‘maybe’ to rate hike

Bank of Japan Governor Ueda sent mixed signals about a rate hike in December, leaving investors unclear and sending the yen lower against the US dollar. Ueda said that the timing of a rate hike depended on economic conditions. He noted that there was progress towards sustained inflation from higher wages and consumption, but warned that there were “numerous uncertainties” that the Bank would have to monitor, such as the impact of President-elect Trump’s economic policies. Ueda said that the central bank wouldn’t wait for all uncertainties to clear up before a hike and that the timing would depend on the “economic, price and financial outlook”.

The lack of clarity from Ueda wasn’t all that surprising as the BoJ is not transparent with its rate plans, which results in strong volatility whenever the BoJ makes a rate move. Ueda’s comments didn’t change market expectations, as the pricing of a rate hike in December is around 55%. A strong rise in inflation or a significant decline in the yen would support a rate hike at the December meeting.

US retail sales stronger than expected

The week ended on a positive note as US retail sales were better than expected in October. Retail sales rose 0.4% m/m, better than the market estimate of 0.3% and the September reading was revised from 0.4% to 0.8%. Annually, retail sales posted a strong gain of 2.8%, up from an upwardly revised gain of 1% in September and blowing past the forecast of 1.9%.

The strong data for September and October has lowered the odds of a rate cut in December, which are currently around 60%. On Thursday, prior to the retail sales report, Fed Chair Powell said that “the economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates”.

USD/JPY Technical

• USD/JPY is testing resistance at 156.07. The next resistance line is 157.86
• 154.97 and 153.18 are the next support levels

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