USD/JPY maintained its decline near 160.50 during the European session on Thursday, eroding some of Wednesday's surge. The pair was dragged down by widespread risk aversion and Japan's verbal intervention, supporting the Japanese Yen. The focus now is on potential foreign exchange intervention and US data.
The Japanese yen (JPY) weakened again on Wednesday in a nearly 10-day losing streak with only one interruption in its advance. Traders are dipping their toes in the water to see if Japan's Ministry of Finance will intervene in the foreign exchange market. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is still unclear when, how and whether it will cut its debt purchase program.
The USD/JPY pair is flashing a red warning light when the price action gets too hot. The best evidence is the Relative Strength Index (RSI), which is close to overbought conditions on the daily chart, while the 160.00 magic level, where Japanese authorities last intervened, is very close. Don't expect an immediate knee-jerk reaction, as authorities will want to see whether US data on Thursday and Friday can trigger some easing without having to stick their necks out to intervene. Are not.