USD/JPY finds its highest bids since 1990, approaches 156.00

US Dollar tips into a fresh 34-year high against Japanese Yen on Wednesday.
BoJ policy statement is expected as markets await Yen intervention.
US data sends mixed shocks through markets as Fed watchers look on.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

USD/JPY broke into its highest chart territory since June of 1990 on Wednesday, peaking near 155.40 for the first time in 34 years as the Japanese Yen continues to tumble across the broad fx market. According to reporting from Nikkei, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is expected to discuss “impact of accelerating Yen depreciation”, a clear sign to market participants that BoJ intervention in the fx markets could be impending if the JPY continues to soften.

Key US data is due in the back half of the trading week with US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index inflation slated for Thursday and Friday, respectively. US GDP is expected to ease to 2.5% for the annualized first quarter compared to the previous 3.4%. US Core PCE inflation in March is forecast to hold steady in March.

Investors hoping for signs of rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will continue to celebrate downside economic indicators from the US, and will be hoping for slowing GDP growth and easing PCE inflation prints.

The BoJ will be releasing its latest Monetary Policy Statement early Friday, and a press conference from BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda is expected to follow at an unspecified time. Before the BoJ, Japan’s Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the year ended April will print in the early Friday market session. Headline Tokyo YoY CPI is expected to hold steady at 2.6% in April, with Core-core Tokyo CPI inflation (headline inflation less volatile food and energy prices) expected to tick down slightly to 2.7% from 2.9%.

USD/JPY technical outlook

With the pair hitting its highest bids in over three decades, USD/JPY is on pace to close in the green for a fourth consecutive month. The pair is up nearly 6% from the last swing low near 146.50 in March, and USD/JPY has climbed almost 8% since crossing the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at the beginning of 2024.

USD/JPY daily chart

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

AUD/USD renews two-month lows near 0.6950 after Australian CPI data

AUD/USD is renewing two-month lows near 0.6950 in the Asian session on Wednesday, as below-expectations August Australian underlying CPI data pours cold water on expectations for further RBA interest rate hikes. Chinese PMI data also fail to inspire the Australian Dollar, despite a pause in the US Dollar advance.

USD/JPY drops below 157.00 as intervention risks counter Japan's weak data

USD/JPY keeps losses below 157.00 in the Asian session on Wednesday, as hawkish BoJ expectations, along with intervention risks, underpin the Japanese Yen, countering dismal domestic factory output and retail sales data. Meanwhile, a broad US Dollar retreat also collaborates to the pair's downside.

Gold consolidates below $4,200, looks to US ADP and PCE

Gold struggles to capitalize on the previous day's recovery from an eight-week low, consolidating below $4,200 in the Asian session on Wednesday. The overnight slide in oil prices eased the US Treasury bond rout, supporting the bullion. However, Fed rate-hike bets and inflationary concerns keep bond yields near multi-year highs. Moreover, geopolitical uncertainties underpin the safe-haven US Dollar, which, in turn, limits bullion.

Ethereum sees profit-taking near $2,700 ahead of key US economic data

Ethereum (ETH) has shown signs of profit-taking near $2,700 over the past few days, with rising exchange deposits and a slowdown in exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows ahead of US inflation and labor market data releases. The top altcoin's Exchange Reserves, which track the total amount of a crypto asset held across exchange wallets, have increased by roughly 125K ETH since Friday.

Silver is more volatile than Gold ahead of PCE and NFP. This chart shows the positioning gap

The market’s attention is focused on American data this week, but there’s something only those with a trained eye may be looking at: Gold and Silver positioning gap. Financial markets are moving on fears, mostly related to persistently high energy prices driven by the Middle East war. Sure, the US Dollar (USD) is strong, but at what cost?