Yesterday the USDJPY reached 141.24 shortly before GMT 22:00, from which peak it sold off and then traded in a range, with the price moving in the 140-yen zone during the New York session.

The U.S. retail sales for August that were announced at GMT 12:30 were good, coming in at +0.1% month on month, versus forecasts of -0.2%, and the market reacted by buying the dollar.

Today the USDJPY opened at 142.33, then declined continuously so that by GMT 05:30 it was trading in the middle of the 141-yen range.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:30 on September 18), the previous close on the daily chart broke above the -1 standard deviation of the Bollinger Band, but is sinking below that line once again.

With regard to the FOMC, a 0.5% cut to interest rates is seen as most likely.

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

Today's main economic indicators are as follows.

• GMT 12:30 U.S. August Housing starts
• GMT 12:30 U.S. August Building permits
• GMT 18:00 Announcement on interest rates after U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting
• GMT 18:30 U.S. Regular press conference with FRB Chairman Jerome Powell