Yesterday the USDJPY continued to rise at a steady pace while zig-zagging between highs and lows. Trading began at 154.68, but the price continued to rise during the morning, and by a little after GMT 12:30 had hit a high of 155.68, which together with other signs confirms the shift in activity to the 155-yen range.

Today the USDJPY fluctuated in the 155-yen range without much sense of direction. On Tuesday and Wednesday the price rose from the Tokyo session and reached new highs, but so far today it has been unable to do so and the high is unchanged.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:25 on May 9), the upward momentum has been lost and the upper and lower Bollinger Bands are tightening. Market participants will be paying close attention to which way the price breaks from here on.

(20-period Bollinger Band, showing ±1 and ±2 standard deviations)

Today's main economic indicators are as follows.

• GMT 12:30 U.S. Initial jobless claims for the previous week
• GMT 12:30 U.S. Continuing jobless claims for the previous week