Bonds breathe, Yen wobbles, and the Dollar awaits Payrolls’ verdict

The FX market has shifted from a storm surge to uneasy calm, with the long end of global bonds once again dictating the rhythm. The 30-year JGB auction didn’t light the sky with fireworks, but it didn’t blow up the stage either. A bid-to-cover ratio of 3.31—down from past strength but still serviceable—was enough to cool the spike in yields after hitting 3.31%, dragging them back toward 3.25%. In this tape, “good enough” carries disproportionate weight, and that’s exactly what stopped another stampede through Tokyo’s duration door.

The yen’s reprieve, however, feels fragile. Political intrigue in Japan keeps traders glued to the LDP vote on whether to force an early leadership contest. Ishiba, still standing, benefits from the fact the vote won’t be anonymous—a lifeline in Japan’s factional politics. Yet the shadow of Sanae Takaichi looms large. A known disciple of Abenomics, she would tilt fiscal and monetary dials toward the same easy-money regime that already fueled Japan’s inflation burn. The irony: her leadership could send USD/JPY higher in the short term even as the policies she represents carry longer-term risks of US Administration backlash.

Across the Pacific, the dollar’s surge has stalled just as quickly as it appeared. Broad-based risk-off buying pushed the dollar index up over 1% earlier this week, but softer U.S. data has trimmed those gains. The JOLTS report confirmed what Powell hinted at in Jackson Hole—the labor market is cooling more than the Fed’s earlier models anticipated. Job openings slid, layoffs were revised higher, and the openings-to-unemployed ratio dipped below 1.0 for the first time since April 2021. Beige Book anecdotes echoed the weakness: firms reluctant to hire, consumers reluctant to spend, and an economy showing the drag of higher rates.

Which brings us to payrolls—the looming tripwire. In a market already pricing a near 97% chance of a September cut, tomorrow’s NFP isn’t just another data point—it’s the referee’s whistle. A weak print will ignite curve steepening and unwind the dollar’s resilience, opening the door for EUR/USD to finally push through 1.18. Conversely, a surprisingly strong report would momentarily hand the greenback a reprieve, but it would take more than one hot number to completely erase the dovish tilt already baked into the Fed’s path.

Sterling, meanwhile, remains the G10 punching bag alongside the yen. Long Gilts have cracked through 5.75%—levels not seen since 1998—and fiscal credibility questions are resurfacing at the worst possible time. Bailey’s testimony in Parliament was equal parts hawk and hedge: signaling inflation risk is sticky enough to slow cuts, yet acknowledging the bond market’s structural demand problem. The message landed—the pound’s August bounce has fully unwound. Only a dovish shift in QT pace at September’s MPC, or a DMO supply tweak with more credibility, offers any near-term lifeline.

In sum: FX desks are trading on borrowed calm. The yen’s fate hangs on politics as much as yields, the dollar is handcuffed to tomorrow’s payrolls, and sterling drags an anchor of fiscal doubt. Beneath the surface, yield differentials are narrowing, yet the greenback hasn’t cracked—proof that traders aren’t ready to chase dovish repricing until the labor data confirms the narrative. Tomorrow’s payrolls, not the bond auctions, will decide whether this quiet surface hides an undercurrent strong enough to flip the script.