Forex Today: USD/JPY Breaks ¥150

Despite the threat of intervention by the Bank of Japan, the USD/JPY currency pair has finally made a sustained bullish breakout above ¥150, reaching a new 1-year high price.

1. The Japanese Yen has continued to weaken against a strong US Dollar, sending the price of the benchmark USD/JPY currency pair to a sustained bullish breakout above the big round number at ¥150, to a new 1-year high price. The Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki warned Yen sellers that he is “watching market moves with a sense of urgency”. Despite this, the currency pair will be of interest to trend traders on the long side.
2. The Bank of Canada decided yesterday to maintain its overnight rate at 5%, weakening the Loonie slightly.
3. Stock markets are generally lower, after the NASDAQ 100 Index fell by more than 2% on its worst trading day of 2023. Asian indices are also firmly lower, with the Nikkei 225 and HIS close to 1-year lows.
4. inflation has risen more strongly than expected, from 5.2% to 5.6% instead of 5.3%. This has increased sentiment in favour of expecting further rates hikes, which has pushed up the value of the Australian Dollar today.
5. Bitcoin remains strong near $35k after making a new 5-month high a few days ago. This will be attractive on the long side to trend traders. This rise has been attributed to BlackRock listing its bitcoin ETF on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation database, sparking intense speculation that the first Bitcoin ETF could soon be approved for retail investors.
6. In the Forex market since the Tokyo open, the strongest major currency has been the US Dollar, while the Australian Dollar has been the weakest, putting the AUD/USD currency pair in focus.
7. The prices of some soft commodities have continued to rise significantly, with both Cocoa and Sugar futures either reaching or close to new long-term highs.
8. Following media reports suggesting that Israel’s planned ground invasion of Gaza was being pushed back by American considerations, Israeli PM Netanyahu yesterday made a televised address in which he pledged the operation will take place, while reiterating his government’s goal of destroying Hamas completely.