USD/JPY twisting on the north side of 147.50, Japan CPI ticks lower to 3.2%

USD/JPY strung up the middle for Friday after Thursday's reversal flows.
Japan's National CPI headline figure came in slightly below previous print, inflation cools slightly.
The Core Japanese National CPI stayed on the higher end than markets expected, steady for the annualized period into August.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

The USD/JPY is holding steady with a bullish lean for early Friday trading, teasing into the 147.650 region as the Japanese Yen (JPY) eases on softly-declining national inflation figures.

Markets initially expected national Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for Japan to step back slightly, with the core CPI (inflation less food price changes) printing in line with the previous figure of 3.1%, beating the median forecast of a flat 3%.

Friday's economic calendar isn't finished with the USD/JPY yet, with the Bank of Japan (BoJ) expected to give their latest inflation rate call. The BoJ is broadly forecast to keep their negative rate regime steady at -0.1%, but abnormally hawkish comments from BoJ officials recently have ramped up expectations of a potential policy adjustment from Japan's central bank.

USD/JPY technical outlook

The USD/JPY pair is seeking higher territory early in Friday trading, probing for firmer ground above 147.50.

The pair got knocked off an up-and-down pattern through the midweek, peaking near 148.50 before checking the plumbing at 147.30.

The USD/JPY is now looking to stage a slow and steady recovery into the midrange after catching support from the 200-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA), and is facing descending technical resistance from the 100-hour SMA just north of 147.80.

On the daily charts, the USD/JPY is enjoying a consistent bullish trend, rising steadily from early 2023's lows near the 128.00 major handle, with prices seeing steady support from a bullish 34-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near 146.00.

USD/JPY hourly chart

USD/JPY technical levels

USD/JPY

Overview
Today last price	147.61
Today Daily Change	-0.74
Today Daily Change %	-0.50
Today daily open	148.35

Trends
Daily SMA20	147
Daily SMA50	144.35
Daily SMA100	142.17
Daily SMA200	137.53

Levels
Previous Daily High	148.36
Previous Daily Low	147.48
Previous Weekly High	147.95
Previous Weekly Low	145.9
Previous Monthly High	147.38
Previous Monthly Low	141.51
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	148.02
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	147.81
Daily Pivot Point S1	147.76
Daily Pivot Point S2	147.17
Daily Pivot Point S3	146.87
Daily Pivot Point R1	148.65
Daily Pivot Point R2	148.95
Daily Pivot Point R3	149.53

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.

GBP/USD bulls seem hesitant as Hormuz ship attack supports safe-haven USD

The GBP/USD pair sticks to a positive bias for the second straight day, albeit it remains below the previous day's swing high and trades just below the 1.3200 mark during the Asian session on Friday. Furthermore, the fundamental backdrop warrants caution before positioning for any meaningful recovery from November 2025 lows, around the 1.3140 region, touched on Wednesday.

EUR/USD softens toward 13‑month low near 1.1350 as rising US PCE inflation lifts US Dollar

The EUR/USD pair loses ground to around 1.1365 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The major remains near a 13-month low as market expectations for US interest rate hikes have risen. Traders brace for the release of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index report, which will be released later on Friday.

Gold drifts lower as Hormuz risks revive USD demand

Gold struggles to build on the overnight bounce from its lowest level since November 2025 as geopolitical risks stemming from an attack on a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz support the US Dollar. Meanwhile, mostly in-line US inflation data eased bets for Fed rate hikes this year, capping the USD and helping the non-yielding bullion to hold above $4,000 during the Asian session. Nevertheless, the commodity remains on track to record losses for the fourth consecutive week.

Uniswap adds $150M in Spark stablecoin liquidity, launches no-code token auction tool

Uniswap received $150 million in stablecoin liquidity from Spark, with the assets set to transition to DualPool, a new custom liquidity hook, according to an announcement on Thursday. Under the new setup, liquidity providers will be able to earn swap fees while their underlying assets continue generating yield, eliminating the need to choose between the two.

Micron prints perfect, and now the chart has to answer

Memory’s biggest name just delivered the cleanest quarter of its life, and the most interesting thing about it is that the stock isn’t sure what to do with it. Micron closed out fiscal Q3 with revenue of $41.5 billion, up 346% on the year, a fifth straight record. Gross margin came in at 84.9%, up from 39% the same quarter a year ago. Earnings landed at $25.11 against a Street sitting near $20.49.

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.