The USD/JPY pair opened with a big 85 pips bearish gap on the first day of a new week and remains depressed below the 147.00 mark through the first ha
lf of the Asian session. Spot prices, however, manage to defend the 200-hour Simple Moving Average support, currently pegged around the 146.65 region, which should now act as a pivotal point for intraday traders.
The Japanese Yen strengthens in reaction to the Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda's hawkish remarks over the weekend, signalling possible interest rate hikes, which, in turn, weighs on the USD/JPY pair. Ueda said the central bank could end its negative interest rate policy when achievement of the 2% inflation target is in sight, the Yomiuri newspaper reported Saturday.
In contrast, the Federal Reserve is expected to deliver one more 25 bps rate hike by the end of this year and keep interest rates higher for longer. The bets were reaffirmed by The Wall Street Journal report that some officials still prefer to err on the side of raising rates too much, reasoning that they can cut them later.