• USD/JPY slipped lower on Friday as the yen strengthened after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) left interest rates unchanged, in line with expectations.
• The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged on Friday but announced plans to begin selling its holdings of riskier assets, marking further progress in unwinding its extensive stimulus program.
• Two of the Bank of Japan's nine board members opposed the decision to maintain short-term interest rates at 0.5%, instead pushing unsuccessfully for an increase to 0.75%.
• At the two-day policy meeting that concluded on Friday, the Bank of Japan agreed to sell its exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings at an annual pace of about 330 billion yen and to offload real estate investment trusts (REITs) at roughly 5 billion yen ($33.95 million) per year..
• The move followed data released earlier on Friday showing that Japan’s core consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in nine months.
• Immediate resistance is located at 148.45(Higher BB), any close above will push the pair towards 148.93(38.2%fib).
• Support is seen at 147.12(50%fib) and break below could take the pair towards 145.69(Lower BB).
Recommendation: Good to buy around 147.30, with stop loss of 146.50 and target price of 148.20
