USD/JPY trades on a positive note above 155.80 on Fed’s hawkish comments

The USD/JPY pair trades on a stronger note near 155.85 during the Asian trading hours on Monday. The hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has provided some support to the Greenback in recent sessions. Investors will take more cues from the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), Producer, Price Index (PPI), and Retail Sales this week for fresh impetus. Also, Fed Jefferson and Mester are set to speak later on Monday.

Early Monday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) reduced the amount of Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) that it purchased in its latest operation in the 5–10-year window to 425bn Yen from 475bn Yen at the previous operation. Ruling party heavyweight Katsunobu Kato said that Japan is seeing conditions fall in place for the central bank to normalize monetary policy. However, the BoJ must monitor economic conditions and coordinate carefully with the government in working out when to raise rates.

The Fed officials delivered a cautious message last week. Financial markets have priced in 5% odds of a June rate cut, down from 10% at the start of last week, while September chances have fallen to 75% from nearly 90% at the beginning of last week. The preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index arrived at 67.4 in May from 77.2 in April, worse than the estimation of 76.0. Furthermore, the one-year inflation outlook climbed to 3.5%, and the five-year outlook rose to 3.1%, the highest level since November 2023. The wide interest rate differential between Japan and the United States continues to undermine the Japanese Yen (JPY) and create a tailwind for the USD/JPY pair.