• USD/JPY edged higher on Friday as yen weakened as economic concerns due to the Hormuz standoff and delayed BoJ rate hike bets undermined the yen.
• The Bank of Japan is expected to keep rates unchanged at its meeting ending Tuesday, as uncertainty over the Middle East conflict clouds the economic and inflation outlook..
• Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama reiterated that authorities are ready to take “decisive” action against speculative FX moves, reinforcing intervention warnings after earlier remarks that Japan has a “free hand” to step in and that past interventions have been effective..
•On the data front, Japan's core consumer inflation slowed below the central bank's 2% target for a second straight month in March.
•The core consumer price index (CPI), which strips away the effect of volatile fresh food costs, rose 1.8% in March from a year earlier, matching a median market forecast. It followed a 1.6% rise in February.
• Immediate resistance is located at 160.26(23.6%fib), any close above will push the pair towards 160.48 (Higher BB).
• Support is seen at 159.27(SMA 20) and break below could take the pair towards 158.65 (38.2%fib)
Recommendation: Good to buy around 159.50, with stop loss of 158.50 and target price of 160.30
