JPY – Japan keeps rates unchanged, yen weakness continues

In Japan, the yen fell after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged and provided no clues on the outlook for monetary policy. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged as expected. The nine-member Bank of Japan's monetary policy board decided to keep the short-term policy rate unchanged at 0.25%. But hawkish board member Naoki Tamura dissented and suggested raising rates to 0.5%, citing growing inflation risks. However, his proposal was rejected. The dollar rose above 157 yen on Thursday. Bank of Japan's Kazuo Ueda reiterated that policymakers need more time to assess incoming economic data and the impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House in January next year. The yen's decline on Thursday was exacerbated by the Federal Reserve's pause in rate cuts and the Bank of Japan's wait-and-see attitude.

As for the trend of USD/JPY, as can be seen from the technical chart, the RSI and stochastic index continued to rise, the MACD indicator broke through the signal line, and the exchange rate just broke through the 25-day moving average again, indicating that the USD/JPY will continue to rise. The nearest support is at 154.40 and 153.30, and the subsequent support is expected to be at 152.40 and 151 levels. As for the nearest resistance level, it is expected to be 158 to 160, and the next level refers to the July high of 161.99.

Estimated range:
Resistance 158.00 – 160.00 – 161.99
Support 154.40 – 153.30 – 152.40 – 151.00

Focus:
Thursday: Bank of Japan rate decision
Friday: Japan November CPI (07:30)

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