- USD/JPY extends its downside to 147.00, the lowest since mid-September.
- The dovish comments from the Federal Reserve’s Waller created a headwind to the US Dollar.
- Inflation data in Japan remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the 19th consecutive month in October.
- All eyes are on the US GDP data on Wednesday.
The USD/JPY pair tumbles to the 147.00 mark during the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday. The decline in the US Dollar (USD) and lower US yields drags the major pair lower to the lowest level since mid-September. USD/JPY currently trades around 147.07, down 0.28% on the day.
The dovish comments from the Federal Reserve (Fed) officials created a headwind to the pair. On Tuesday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he’s confident that policy is in place now to bring inflation back under control. He added that the Fed won’t need to hike rates further from here and might start cutting rates if inflation continues to ease over the next three to five months. The Greenback attracted some selling following these comments, falling to 102.60 and the 10-year US Treasury yield fell to 4.325%, the lowest since September 20.
About the data, the US CB Consumer Confidence improved to 102.00 in November versus a downward revision to 99.1. The Richmond Fed Manufacturing dropped to 5.0 from the previous reading of 3.0 rise. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index climbed 3.9% YoY in September, below the market expectation of 4.0%.
On the other hand, the Japanese headline and core CPI data last week indicated that inflation data in Japan remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the 19th consecutive month in October. Apart from this, the rising speculation that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will abandon its ultra-dovish policy in 2024 lifts the Japanese Yen (JPY) against the USD.
Moving on, traders will monitor the US Gross Domestic Product Annualized for the third quarter (Q3). The growth rate is expected to expand by 5.0%. These data could give a clear direction to the USD/JPY pair.
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