Yesterday the Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting decided a 0.25% rise in interest rates, directly after the announcement of which the USDJPY rose temporarily. The unexpectedly hawkish stance of BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda, which became apparent at the following press conference, led in turn to yen buying.

The USDJPY continued to fall, breaking below the critical level of 150 just before the close, and marking a low of 149.60.

Today the USDJPY went on to record new lows during the morning session. Shortly after GMT 01:30 it hit a low of 148.50.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 04:30 on August 1), the middle line of the Bollinger Bands is falling, and a glance is enough to tell that it is in a downward trend.

(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
• GMT 13:45 U.S. July Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI, revised)
• GMT 14:00 U.S. July ISM Manufacturing PMI

With volatility already high, important economic indicators continue to be announced. The ISM manufacturing PMIs are closely watched, and depending on the outcome of those figures the price may move significantly.