USD/JPY Price Forecast: Bulls struggle below 160.00 amid intervention fears, softer USD
- USD/JPY faces rejection ahead of the 160.00 psychological mark amid a modest USD downtick.
- Intervention fears further benefit the JPY and contribute to capping the upside for spot prices.
- The technical setup favors a bullish outlook amid reduced BoJ rate hike bets and geopolitical uncertainties.
The USD/JPY pair attracts fresh sellers following a modest Asian session uptick to the 160.00 neighborhood on Tuesday, though it manages to hold above the previous day's swing low. Spot prices currently trade around the 159.70-159.75 region, unchanged for the day, as traders seem reluctant amid mixed fundamental cues.
Against the backdrop of economic concerns stemming from the Iran war, softer Tokyo consumer inflation figures temper bets for an immediate policy tightening by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). This, in turn, undermines the Japanese Yen (JPY) and supports the USD/JPY pair. However, hopes for a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East weigh on the US Dollar (USD) and cap spot prices amid JPY intervention fears.
From a technical perspective, the near-term tone stays mildly bullish as the USD/JPY pair holds well above the rising 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), keeping the broader uptrend intact despite the recent hesitation above the 160.00 psychological mark. Furthermore, the lack of follow-through selling favors bulls and suggests that the path of least resistance for spot prices remains to the upside.
Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator has flattened around the zero line after losing upside traction, suggesting fading bullish momentum rather than a clear reversal. Adding to this, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 59 remains in positive territory without overbought signals, which validates the positive outlook and supports a bias for dip-buying while momentum consolidates.
The aforementioned structure favors renewed tests of 160.30, the recent swing high, followed by a higher barrier at 161.00, where a breakout would reopen the path toward fresh cycle highs. On the downside, immediate support aligns at 159.00, with a deeper floor at 158.40 that guarded prior pullbacks. A daily close below the latter would expose 157.70 as the next downside level for the USD/JPY pair.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
USD/JPY daily chart
Bank of Japan FAQs
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is the Japanese central bank, which sets monetary policy in the country. Its mandate is to issue banknotes and carry out currency and monetary control to ensure price stability, which means an inflation target of around 2%.
The Bank of Japan embarked in an ultra-loose monetary policy in 2013 in order to stimulate the economy and fuel inflation amid a low-inflationary environment. The bank’s policy is based on Quantitative and Qualitative Easing (QQE), or printing notes to buy assets such as government or corporate bonds to provide liquidity. In 2016, the bank doubled down on its strategy and further loosened policy by first introducing negative interest rates and then directly controlling the yield of its 10-year government bonds. In March 2024, the BoJ lifted interest rates, effectively retreating from the ultra-loose monetary policy stance.
The Bank’s massive stimulus caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers. This process exacerbated in 2022 and 2023 due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks, which opted to increase interest rates sharply to fight decades-high levels of inflation. The BoJ’s policy led to a widening differential with other currencies, dragging down the value of the Yen. This trend partly reversed in 2024, when the BoJ decided to abandon its ultra-loose policy stance.
A weaker Yen and the spike in global energy prices led to an increase in Japanese inflation, which exceeded the BoJ’s 2% target. The prospect of rising salaries in the country – a key element fuelling inflation – also contributed to the move.
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