FxWirePro: USD/JPY trades in narrow range ahead of U.S.inflation data

• USD/JPY   traded in a narrow range on Friday as investors adjusted positions ahead of US inflation data.

• The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, is due at 1230 GMT. According to a Reuters poll, the report is expected to show a 0.3% month-on-month increase and a 2.7% year-on-year rise for August.

• On Thursday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) released the minutes from its July 30–31 policy meeting, providing insight into the central bank’s discussions on monetary policy.

• Minutes from the Bank of Japan’s July policy meeting, released Thursday, showed that while some board members supported the idea of resuming interest rate hikes in the future, the board unanimously decided to keep borrowing costs unchanged for now.

•Meanwhile, data released on Friday showed core inflation in Japan’s capital held firm in September, maintaining levels above the central bank’s 2% target and keeping rate-hike speculation alive.

•Tokyo’s core consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh food but including fuel, rose 2.5% year-on-year in September, below the median forecast of 2.8%.

• Immediate resistance is located at 150.00(Psychological level), any close above will push the pair towards 150.86(Higher BB).

•  Support is seen at 149.02(38.2%fib) and break below could take the pair towards  147.90(SMA 20).

Recommendation: Good to buy around 149.60, with stop loss of 148.50 and target price of 150.40