USD/JPY approaching 150.00 with BoJ intervention eyed

The greenback resumed the upside on Wednesday and appreciates for the 11^th consecutive day, with the pair reaching session highs at 149.70 so far, approaching the psychological 150.00 level, which according to some market sources, might trigger an intervention by the Bank of Japan.
 

All eyes are on a potential BoJ intervention

With the Japanese yen declining across the board, the USD/JPY has surged about 30% since march, to reach 32-year highs. The US dollar is now moving well above the 145.00 level, which triggered the first BoJ intervention since 1998 in September.

US Treasury yields picked up on Wednesday, with the market shifting its focus towards the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, due on November 1 and 2. The bank is widely expected to increase the Federal Funds Rate by 75 basis points for the fourth consecutive time, which has provided a fresh boost to the USD after having traded without clear direction over the last two days.

Monetary policy divergence is the main reason behind yen's weakness. The Bank of Japan is lagging behind all the major central banks, already in a monetary tightening cycle, which is crushing demand on the yen.

USD/JPY could reach 160.00 – Nordea

FX analysts at Nordea Bank observe more upside potential on the pair and point out a potential 160.00 target: “With a continued worsening of rate differentials, we see USD/JPY trading as high as 160 at times, even with the intervention from the Japanese government (…) What will stop the weakening of the JPY is a shift in monetary policy from the Bank of Japan or a 180-degree shift from all other G10 central banks.

Technical levels to watch