EUR/JPY plays around 147.00, investors await development on BOJ intervention plans

The EUR/JPY pair is hanging around 147.00 after a mild correction from a fresh seven-year high at 147.25. The asset is expected to pursue a rangebound structure as investors are awaiting fresh developments on the Bank of Japan (BOJ)’s intervention plans in the currency market to support yen against speculative forex moves.

Continuous warnings from Japan’s officials of potential intervention have kept investors on the sidelines as the supportive move for Japan will trigger volatility in the yen-linked FX pair. Chatters over possible BOJ’s intervention heated after the Japanese yen fell to its record lows near 150.00 against the dollar in the past 32 years.

On Wednesday, Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, and BOJ’s Governor Haruhiko Kuroda crossed wires, citing that Japan's economy is vulnerable to external demand shock, which could tip it back to deflation. This clears the fact that the concept of policy tightening is far from thought.

This week, Japan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data will remain in the spotlight. As per the projections, the headline CPI could move to 3.1% vs. the prior release of 3.0%. While the core CPI could accelerate to 2% against the former print of 1.6%.

On the Eurozone front, the odds for a bigger rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB) are skyrocketing. A Reuters poll on ECB’s rate hike extent states that ECB President Christine Lagarde will step up the interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) on October 27. As the European Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is trading at 5x than the targeted rate of 2%, efficiency in policy tightening is highly required.