USD/JPY – Yen starts week with slight gains

The Japanese yen has edged higher on Monday. USD/JPY is trading at 157.11 in the North American session, down 0.16% on the day at the time of writing. The data calendar is light today, with no events out of the US or Japan.

Biden calls it quits, US dollar shrugs

The US presidential campaign continues to seems to have a new twist every day or two. Over the weekend, President Biden dropped a bombshell and announced that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president. Biden had been under increasing pressure from Democrats to step aside and he has endorsed Vice-President Harris for the nomination, although it’s unclear if she will face any competition. Biden is expected to finish his term as President.

The move was expected to cause some volatility but the US stock market and the US dollar are steady today. The US dollar has had a rough July and is slipped against the yen by 2.3%. The yen has dropped as low as 161.80 on July 10 but then soared over 2% the next day in what was likely a currency intervention by the Bank of Japan.

The BoJ meets on July 31 and is unlikely to raise rates at the meeting, as the economy has been sputtering and consumers aren’t spending. The BoJ has hinted at tightening its monetary policy and has said it would cut the purchases of government bonds, but hasn’t yet presented a clear plan. The BoJ isn’t known for its transparency and the lack of clarity hasn’t helped the yen.
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USD/JPY Technical

USD/JPY pushed below support at 157.02 and 156.62 earlier. Below, there is support at 156.26
There is resistance at 157.38 and 157.78

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