USD/JPY: Intervention risks grow as yen falls to 11-month low

  • 30-year Treasury yield rose 12bps to 4.645% vs 15.19% which was the peak at 1981.
  • Bloomberg dollar index has best rally in three weeks, which is also highest level since December
  • BOJ Governor Ueda stands on dovish ground, yen free to fall; PM Kishida delivers plan to ease inflation pain

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda and his deputy governor Uchida are committed to their ultra-easy policy.  Governor Ueda noted that there was “very high uncertainty” over whether companies would continue to increase prices and wages.  Uchida stated that the central bank needs to patiently continue monetary easing.  He also reiterated that they are closely watching FX markets.

Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida also unveiled new economic measures that should help deliver sustainable wage growth.  Kishida expressed his unhappiness with the yen, noting that excessive currency moves are not desirable and that he wants to monitor markets with vigilance.

The pressure to stop the yen’s slide is building and the current move in Treasuries makes dollar strength likely to remain intact.

USD/JPY Daily Chart

As of late March, the US dollar continues to assert renewed strength as a a result, USD/JPY has retested prior levels that  triggered intervention last year.  The path to 150 seems like it should be there given the major reset Wall Street is having with pricing in higher-for-longer.

Everyone wants to know when does Japan step in and support the yen, or can they just ditch their easy policy?  Excessively overbought territory could last a while longer, but it seems  150 to 155 will remain key levels.

Next months inflation report should include some upward revisions, which should mean traders might become more optimistic about a policy shift or the abandoning of yield curve control.  Yen weakness might last a little while longer, but FX traders are anxious for when Japan is ready to make a meaningful policy change.

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Ed Moya

Ed Moya

Contributing Author at OANDA
With more than 20 years’ trading experience, Ed Moya was a Senior Market Analyst with OANDA for the Americas from November 2018 to November 2023.

His particular expertise lies across a wide range of asset classes including FX, commodities, fixed income, stocks and cryptocurrencies.

Over the course of his career, Ed has worked with some of the leading forex brokerages, research teams and news departments on Wall Street including Global Forex Trading, FX Solutions and Trading Advantage. Prior to OANDA he worked with TradeTheNews.com, where he provided market analysis on economic data and corporate news.

Based in New York, Ed is a regular guest on several major financial television networks including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Yahoo! Finance Live, Fox Business, cheddar news, and CoinDesk TV. His views are trusted by the world’s most respected global newswires including Reuters, Bloomberg and the Associated Press, and he is regularly quoted in leading publications such as MSN, MarketWatch, Forbes, Seeking Alpha, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Ed holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University.