USD/JPY jumps to 145.00 following hot US inflation data

The pair trades green for a fifth consecutive day, around the critical 145.00 zone.
The USD continues to strengthen after higher-than-expected US PPI data from July.
Investors continue to bet on a less aggressive stance by the BoJ causing the Yen to lose interest.

Patricio Martín FXStreet

On the last day of the week, the USD/JPY rose near the 145.00 zone, showing more than 2% of weekly gains. This movement was driven by a vital Producer Price Index (PPI) from the US for July and optimistic personal consumer confidence data released by the University of Michigan (UoM). The US treasury bond yields are increasing and show more than 1% of daily gains from this. On the Japanese side, Yen continues to trade weak as investors continue to place bets on a dovish stance by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).

Hawkish bets on the Fed after inflation data favoured the USD

PPI data on Friday saw the headline figure jumping to 2.4% YoY in July, slightly higher than expected. This comes with the US releasing this week that the headline and core Consumer Price Index (CPI) decelerated in the same month, so overall, the US inflation outlook is mixed.

That being said, the US bond yields are seeing gains across the curve driven by hawkish bets on the Federal Reserve. The 10-year bond yield rose to 4.18%, while the 2-year yield stands at 4.90% and the 5-year yielding 4.31%, respectively. In line with that, the CME FedWatch tool indicates that the odds of a 25 basis point (bps) hike in the November meeting rose to nearly 30% but remain low for the upcoming September decision.

On the JPY’s side, no relevant data was released, and the focus shifted to next week's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data from Q2 from Japan.

USD/JPY Levels to watch

Considering the daily chart, the USD/JPY shows a bullish outlook for the short term. The Relative Strength Index (RSI), positioned above its midline in positive territory with a northward slope, supports this view along with the positive indication from the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), which is displaying green bars, pointing towards a strengthening bullish trend. On the other hand, the pair is above the 20,100,200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), indicating that the bulls are in command of the broader picture.

Support levels: 143.70, 143.00, 142.00.

Resistance levels: 145.00, 145.50, 146.00.

USD/JPY Daily chart

USD/JPY

Overview
Today last price	144.95
Today Daily Change	0.20
Today Daily Change %	0.14
Today daily open	144.75

Trends
Daily SMA20	141.44
Daily SMA50	141.6
Daily SMA100	138.37
Daily SMA200	136.49

Levels
Previous Daily High	144.82
Previous Daily Low	143.29
Previous Weekly High	143.89
Previous Weekly Low	140.69
Previous Monthly High	144.91
Previous Monthly Low	137.24
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	144.23
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	143.87
Daily Pivot Point S1	143.75
Daily Pivot Point S2	142.75
Daily Pivot Point S3	142.22
Daily Pivot Point R1	145.28
Daily Pivot Point R2	145.81
Daily Pivot Point R3	146.81

Author

Patricio Martín

FXStreet

Patricio is an economist from Argentina passionate about global finance and understanding the daily movements of the markets.

GBP/USD holds recovery gains near 1.3400 despite soft UK CPI data

GBP/USD clings to recovery gains near 1.3400 in European trading on Wednesday. The UK annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation cooled to 2.6% in June against the market forecast of 2.7%, failing to deter the British Pound's rebound from weekly troughs. However, the pair's further upside could be limited by ongoing Mideast tensions and sustained US Dollar demand as a haven.

EUR/USD gains ground above 1.1400 on hawkish ECB tone

The EUR/USD pair holds positive ground near 1.1410 during the early European trading hours, bolstered by a hawkish tone from the European Central Bank. However, the potential upside for the major pair might be limited amid escalating military tensions and recent retaliatory airstrikes between the US and Iran.

Gold ease from two-week top as energy-driven inflation fears bolster Fed hike bets

Gold retreats slightly from a two-week high touched earlier this Wednesday, albeit it retains an intraday bullish bias through the first half of the European session. Hopes that US-Iran diplomacy could ease energy prices and temper hawkish US Federal Reserve expectations undermine the US Dollar, which is seen supporting the commodity. In fact, top negotiators for Iran and the US signaled that they have not walked away from talks.

Cardano: Short-term recovery lacks retail support

Cardano price edges lower after the 50-day Exponential Moving Average at $1.770 capped two consecutive days of recovery seen earlier this week. ADA futures point to waning retail traction as Open Interest and trading volume decline amid elevated long liquidations. The technical outlook for ADA is bearish, as momentum remains subdued below a resistance trendline near $0.1782.

Chip stocks are more volatile than Oil

I continue to start the day by looking at these two charts: US crude & Kospi. The former is extending gains, trading above $86 per barrel for WTI and $92 per barrel for Brent, while the Kospi is up more than 4.5%, led higher by Korean chipmakers following a similar jump in VanEck's Semiconductor ETF yesterday.

US Dollar mid-year outlook: Exceptional currency, exceptional risks?

The US Dollar enters the second half of 2026 in a markedly different position from a year ago. The King currency has recovered, reflecting persistent US inflation, changing expectations for Fed policy, geopolitical tensions and renewed demand for defensive assets.