Below the 157.20 Area: US Dollar Hesitates in USD/JPY Price Forecasts

157.20 to 157.50 remains a hurdle for USD/JPY. The pair is struggling to regain this former support zone.
With Fed and BoJ interest rate decisions due later this week, investors remain on the sidelines.
Ahead of the central bank decisions, support above 156.00 is likely to limit bearish pressure.

156.00 has provided support for USD/JPY. The pair has yet to establish a firm foothold above 157.00. At the start of Monday’s European session, the US Dollar (USD) edges higher against the Japanese Yen (JPY), but remains below the lower boundary of its previous three-week trading range. Markets are holding back ahead of key central bank decisions in the second half of the week.

TMGM Analysis: Financial Market News, Economic Calendar & Market Insights

Amid mounting inflation pressures, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 1.25% while signalling another increase in December. That would preserve its quarterly monetary tightening cycle.

The Federal Reserve (Fed), which meets before the BoJ, is likewise expected to leave rates unchanged. However, Chair Kevin Warsh's aversion to forward guidance is likely to keep the central bank's rate outlook unclear. In that scenario, Thursday's US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index is likely to offer greater clarity on December's decision.

157.20 - 157.50: USD/JPY rangebound below former support in technical analysis

At 157.13, USD/JPY is sustaining a fragile recovery, although 4-hour momentum indicators point to neutral conditions. The Relative Strength Index (14) has risen above the 40s. Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line continues to hover, indicating that near-term bullish momentum remains weak.

The former support zone around 157.20 to 157.50 continues to restrict advances, having contained sellers several times earlier in October. Beyond it, the next upside targets would be the 21 October high at 158.40, followed by the range ceiling around 159.00.

A decisive break below the 156.10 - 156.40 zone, marked by the 29 September and 23 October lows, would expose the 17 September low at 155.35.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)

Japanese Yen Performance Today

Among the major currencies listed below, the Japanese Yen (JPY) performed best against the New Zealand Dollar today. The table presents its percentage changes against each currency.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.07%	0.08%	0.17%	0.07%	0.11%	0.17%	-0.03%
EUR	0.07%		0.18%	0.23%	0.13%	0.19%	0.25%	0.05%
GBP	-0.08%	-0.18%		0.04%	-0.04%	0.00%	0.08%	-0.14%
JPY	-0.17%	-0.23%	-0.04%		-0.08%	-0.06%	0.00%	-0.20%
CAD	-0.07%	-0.13%	0.04%	0.08%		0.01%	0.11%	-0.10%
AUD	-0.11%	-0.19%	-0.01%	0.06%	-0.01%		0.07%	-0.13%
NZD	-0.17%	-0.25%	-0.08%	-0.01%	-0.11%	-0.07%		-0.20%
CHF	0.03%	-0.05%	0.14%	0.20%	0.10%	0.13%	0.20%

Percentage movements between major currencies are displayed in the heat map. Select the base currency from the left-hand column and the quote currency from the top row. To read JPY (base)/USD (quote), for example, choose the Japanese Yen on the left and follow that row across to the US Dollar column. The intersecting cell shows the corresponding percentage change.