USD/JPY Price Forecast: Flirts with 100-hour EMA support, above 159.00 amid softer USD

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The USD/JPY pair adds to its modest intraday losses and moves further away from over a one-week high, around the 159.70 region, touched the previous day. Spot prices drop to the 159.00 neighborhood, or a fresh daily low, during the early European session, though the downside potential seems limited.

USD/JPY attracts some sellers and erodes a part of Tuesday’s gains to over a one-week top.
The US-Iran ceasefire extension undermines the USD and exerts some pressure on the pair.
Hormuz risks and delayed BoJ rate hike bets cap gains for the JPY and support spot prices.

A temporary extension of the US-Iran ceasefire prompts some selling around the US Dollar (USD) and exerts some downward pressure on the USD/JPY pair. However, economic concerns stemming from a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, along with bets for a delayed Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike, might continue to undermine the Japanese Yen (JPY) and help limit losses for the currency pair.

The USD/JPY pair shows some resilience below the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the recent move up from last week's swing low, around the 157.60 region, and bounced off the 100-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) on the 1-hour chart. That said, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has slipped marginally below zero, and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 48 signals neutral to slightly soft momentum.

Momentum indicators, in turn, hint that the upside impetus is fading but not yet undermining the broader intraday support near the 23.6% Fibo. retracement at 159.15, reinforced by the 100-period EMA at 159.07 just beneath. A deeper pullback would expose the 38.2% retracement at 158.85, followed by layered Fibonacci supports at 158.60, 158.36, and 158.01, with the 157.57 swing low acting as a more distant structural floor if selling pressure accelerates.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)

USD/JPY 1-hour chart

Bank of Japan FAQs

What is the Bank of Japan?

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%.

What has been the Bank of Japan’s policy?

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.

How do Bank of Japan’s decisions influence the Japanese Yen?

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.

Why did the Bank of Japan decide to start unwinding its ultra-loose policy?

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.