USD/JPY Forecast and News
USD/JPY off lows, still down 1% on likely 'Yentervention'
USD/JPY is off ten-week lows but remains heavy near 156.00 in early Europe on Wednesday. Markets speculate another round of FX intervention by Japan's authorities behind the latest leg up in the Japanese Yen, keeping the bearish pressure intact on the currency pair.
Latest Japanese Yen News
USD/JPY Technical Overview
In the fifteen-minute chart, USD/JPY trades at 159.62. The pair holds above the day’s open at 159.36, keeping a modest intraday bullish bias as prices grind higher within a tight range. The Stochastic RSI hovers around mid-50s, hinting at recovering upside momentum rather than overbought conditions and suggesting buyers still have some control in the very near term.
On the downside, initial support aligns with the day’s open at 159.36, where a break would expose a deeper corrective pullback toward the prior intraday lows. While no major moving averages are in play on this timeframe, the intact sequence of higher closes keeps the focus on dip-buying as long as the pair defends levels above 159.36.
In the daily chart, USD/JPY trades at 159.62. The pair maintains a bullish near-term bias as price holds well above the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 158.44 and the 200-day EMA at 155.10, keeping the broader uptrend intact. The Stochastic RSI has rebounded toward the mid-50s, suggesting recovering upside momentum after a period of consolidation within the prevailing bullish structure.
On the downside, initial support is seen at the 50-day EMA around 158.44, where a dip would still leave the broader bullish bias intact while the pair trades above the 200-day EMA at 155.10. A daily close back under the 50-day EMA would hint at a deeper corrective phase toward the longer-term average, whereas holding above current levels would keep buyers in control and leave scope for a retest of recent highs not yet challenged on this latest leg.
Fundamental Overview
US President Donald Trump stirred the hornets’ hive on Monday, vowing that the US military would help free stranded vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Two vessels are reported to have crossed the waterway, while other ships attempting to follow reported fires and explosions, and an Oil port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been hit, allegedly by Iranian missiles.
Furthermore, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf affirmed that a “new equation” has solidified the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and has blamed the US and its allies for violating the ceasefire and imposing a blockade.
Against this backdrop, Oil prices remain near long-term highs. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) barrel trades above $101 at the time of writing, while the Brent barrel remains above $110, adding strain to the oil-importing Japanese economy and weighing on the JPY
The Yen has been trimming gains following a sharp jump on Thursday, highly likely due to an intervention by the Japanese authorities. Tokyo stepped in to support the JPY as the USD/JPY crossed the 160.00 mark, which is considered a line in the sand for the Japanese Ministry of Finance.
Investors, however, hold doubts about the sustainability of Tokyo interventions in the long run, as fundamentals are set against the Yen. The high crude prices, coupled with the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) low interest rates, in a context of higher global bond yields as major central banks turn hawkish, are highly likely to keep the Yen on the defensive.
Latest JPY Analysis
Editors' picks
EUR/USD holds firm above 1.1750 as risk flows dominate
EUR/USD stays firm above 1.1760 in European trading hours on Wednesday, bolstered by improved risk sentiment, which dents the US Dollar's safe-haven appeal. Confidence returned on headlines indicating the United States and Iran are moving towards a deal to end the conflict. The deal would involve both sides lifting restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
USD/JPY off lows, still down 1% on likely 'Yentervention'
USD/JPY is off ten-week lows but remains heavy near 156.00 in early Europe on Wednesday. Markets speculate another round of FX intervention by Japan's authorities behind the latest leg up in the Japanese Yen, keeping the bearish pressure intact on the currency pair.
Gold continues scaling higher; retakes $4,700 amid peace deal hopes
Gold extends its intraday ascent and climbs to an over one-week high, re-attempting $4,700 in Wednesday's European session. The US Dollar weakens across the board amid optimism over a potential US-Iran peace deal, helping the commodity to build on its recovery from a more than one-month trough, around the $4,500 mark set on Monday.
ADP Employment Report set to show US job market gained momentum in April
Developments in the Middle East conflict are likely to remain at the forefront this week, but investors will also keep an eye on a string of US labour market figures.
UK 30-year gilts hit 5.78%, the highest since 1998: what is being priced in? Premium
UK 30-year gilts traded as high as 5.78% on Tuesday, the highest level since 1998, while 10-year yields topped 5.10% with markets pricing in nearly three-quarter-point Bank of England (BoE) rate hikes this year.
Majors
Cryptocurrencies
Signatures
Influential Institutions & People for the USD/JPY
The US Dollar Japanese Yen can be seriously affected by news or the decisions taken by two main central banks:
The Federal Reserve (Fed)
The Federal Reserve (Fed) is the central bank of the United States (US) and it has two main targets: to maintain the unemployment rate at its lowest possible levels and to keep inflation around 2%. The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors and the partially appointed Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC organizes eight scheduled meetings in a year to review economic and financial conditions. It also determines the appropriate stance of monetary policy and assesses the risks to its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth. The FOMC Minutes, which are released by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve weeks after the latest meeting, are a guide to the future US interest-rate policy.
Fed official website , on X and Facebook
The Bank of Japan (BOJ)
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is the central bank of Japan. Established under the Bank of
Japan Act in 1882, it is a juridical entity and neither a government agency nor a private corporation. The BoJ
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%.
Policy Board: The Policy Board is the bank's highest decision-making body. It determines the
guidelines
for currency and monetary control, sets the basic principles for carrying out the bank's operations and oversees
the performance of the bank's officers, excluding auditors and counselors.
History: The Bank of Japan was established under the Bank of Japan Act, promulgated in June
1882, and began operating as the nation's central bank on October 10, 1882. It was reorganized in 1942 under the
Bank of Japan Act of 1942,
which reflected the wartime context. The Act of 1942 was amended several times after World War II, and the
establishment of the Policy Board as the bank's highest decision-making body occurred in June 1949. In June
1997, the Act of 1942 was revised completely under the principles of independence and transparency. The revised
Act came into effect on April 1, 1998.
The official website , on X and YouTube
Jerome Powell
Jerome Powell took office as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2018, for a four-year term ending in February 2022. He was sworn in on May 23, 2022, for a second term as Chairman ending May 15, 2026. Born in Washington D.C., he received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979. Powell served as an assistant secretary and as undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush. He also worked as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City. From 1997 through 2005, Powell was a partner at The Carlyle Group.
Jerome Powell Fed's Profile and Wikipedia
Kazuo Ueda
Kazuo Ueda was born in Makinohara, Japan, on September 20, 1951. He is the 32nd and current Governor of the BoJ. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with a Bachelor of Science and Mathematics and received a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
He is a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and also worked as a professor at Kyoritsu Women's University. In February 2023, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida nominated Ueda as the governor of the BoJ. He is widely regarded as an expert on monetary policy but was considered a surprise appointment by analysts. He wasn’t even considered a dark-horse candidate, as the BoJ governor role has traditionally gone to long-serving Finance Ministry bureaucrats or central bank officials. Ueda is the first academic economist to lead the BoJ in the post-World War II era.
Ueda’s Wikipedia profile
BOJ NEWS & ANALYSIS
FED NEWS & ANALYSIS
About USD/JPY
The USD/JPY (US Dollar Japanese Yen) currency pair is one of the 'Majors', a group of the most important currency pairs in the world. The Japanese Yen, known for its low interest rate, is frequently used in carry trades, making it one of the most traded currencies worldwide. In the USD/JPY pair, the US Dollar is the base currency and the Japanese Yen serves as the counter currency.
Trading USD/JPY is also known as trading the "ninja" or the "gopher", although the latter nickname is more frequently associated with the GBP/JPY pair. USD/JPY usually has a positive correlation with other pairs like USD/CHF and USD/CAD, as all three use the US Dollar as the base currency. The value of the pair is often influenced by interest-rate differentials between the two central banks: the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
Related pairs
GBP/USD
The GBP/USD (or Pound Dollar) currency pair belongs to the group of 'Majors', referring to the most important and widely traded pairs in the world. The pair is also known as “the Cable”, a term originating in the mid-19th century that refers to the first transatlantic telegraph connecting Great Britain and the United States. As a closely watched and widely traded currency pair, it features the British Pound as the base currency and the US Dollar as the counter currency. For that reason, macroeconomic data from both the United States and the United Kingdom significantly impacts its price. One notable event that affected the volatility of the pair was Brexit.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD (or Euro Dollar) currency pair belongs to the group of 'Majors', a term used t o describe the most important currency pairs in the world. This group also includes GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD , USD/CHF, NZD/USD and USD/CAD . The popularity of the Euro Dollar pair stems from its representation of two of the world’s largest economies: the Eurozone and the United States.
The EUR/USD is one of the most widely traded currency pairs in the Forex market, where the Euro serves as the base currency and the US Dollar as the counter currency. It accounts for more than half of the total trading volume in the Forex market, making gaps almost inexistent, let alone sudden reversals caused by breakaway gaps.
The EUR/USD is usually quiet during the Asian session, as economic data influencing the pair is usually released during the European or US sessions. Activity increases as European traders begin their day, leading to heightened trading volume. This activity slows around midday during the European lunch break but picks up again when US markets come online.