This one pair has been at odds with yield divergence lately after acting as an excellent responder to it from 2012 (starting period of the analysis) to summer of 2015. It kept responding to yield divergence despite a drop in oil price. US-Japan 2 year yield spread rose from 0.13 percent in 2012 to 0.72 percent by May 2015 and hovered there till October but the yen was strengthening.
However, trouble started surfacing after summer. We guess it was triggered by the surprise devaluation of the yuan by the Chinese central bank, People’s Bank of China (PBoC).
The yield spread kept rising in favor of the dollar. The yield spread rose more than 30 basis point since summer of 2015, but, the yen has strengthened from 126 to as low as 98 per dollar. Currently trading at 104.8 per dollar, in anticipation of further easing from the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
It is clear that a different force other than the yield is driving the USD/JPY exchange rate as of now and it may very well continue to do so.


Fed Confirms Rate Meeting Schedule Despite Severe Winter Storm in Washington D.C.
Fed Governor Lisa Cook Warns Inflation Risks Remain as Rates Stay Steady
FxWirePro: Daily Commodity Tracker - 21st March, 2022
RBI Holds Repo Rate at 5.25% as India’s Growth Outlook Strengthens After U.S. Trade Deal
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target
MAS Holds Monetary Policy Steady as Strong Growth Raises Inflation Risks
Bank of Canada Holds Interest Rate at 2.25% Amid Trade and Global Uncertainty 



