USD/JPY creeping higher

USD/JPY continues to move edge higher and is up 1.6% this week. In the European session, USD/JPY is trading at 147.67, up 0.25%.

The Japanese yen is once again on a downswing, after hugging the key 145 line. The dramatic intervention by Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) in September stemmed the yen’s bleeding, but this move by Tokyo appears to have had a very short shelf-life, as the yen fell to new 24-year lows.

Intervention anyone?

The burning question is with the yen currently lower than when the MOF stepped in, will it again intervene to prop up the Japanese currency? The first intervention clearly didn’t achieve its desired effect of stabilizing the yen below 145 and Japan’s foreign reserves fell by a record amount in September, around 2.8 trillion yen. The game of cat-and-mouse between the MOF and speculators betting against the yen continues, and another currency intervention could be in the works, but it would likely have to be much larger than the first intervention.

The MOF could try to send a stronger warning to the markets, but it’s questionable whether unilateral action by Japan will be enough to change the yen’s downtrend. The Bank of Japan has no intention of capping JGB yields and with the Fed likely to deliver another oversize rate hike in November, the US/Japan rate differential will continue to widen and likely weigh on the Japanese yen.

The US posted another hot inflation report for September. Headline inflation ticked lower to 8.2%, down from 8.3% but above the consensus of 8.1%. Core inflation rose to 6.6%, up from 6.3% and higher than the forecast of 6.5%. Inflation clearly is yet to peak despite monetary policy becoming restrictive, and the inflation data cements expectations for a 75 basis point hike at the November meeting.

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USD/JPY Technical

• USD/JPY is testing resistance at 147.50. Above, there is resistance at 148.32
• There is support at 147.50 and 146.04

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