• USD/JPY strengthened on Friday as yen weakened after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda offered no clear guidance on interest rates ahead of the central bank’s upcoming policy meeting..
• Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda avoided signalling an imminent rate hike this month, instead pointing to Japan’s still-low real interest rates and strong corporate profits. T
• Japan is dealing with rising inflation driven by a “negative supply shock,” which is harder to control through monetary policy than demand-led inflation, Ueda said..
• The BOJ ended its decade-long stimulus in 2024 and raised rates, including in December to 0.75% a 30-year high citing steady progress toward sustainably achieving its 2% inflation target.
• Recent BOJ hawkish signals had priced in a 70% chance of an April hike, but this fell to around 30% after Ueda’s April 13 speech offered no clear policy signal and flagged economic risks from Middle East tensions..
• Immediate resistance is located at 159.20 (SMA 20), any close above will push the pair towards 160.00 (Psychological level).
• Support is seen at 158.68(38.2%fib) and break below could take the pair towards 158.33 (Lower BB)
Recommendation: Good to sell around 159.20, with stop loss of 158.50 and target price of 159.80
