After setting a high of 150.28 on Friday of last week at around GMT 23:30, the USDJPY then declined continuously from the lower end of the 150-yen range to the upper half of the 149-yen range as if being pushed down by the weight of the higher price.

Building permits for September in the U.S. that were announced at GMT 12:30 were poor both month on month and in terms of the seasonally adjusted annual rate. The market reacted by selling dollars, setting a low of 149.36 yen shortly after GMT 16:30, and trading for the week closed at 149.50.

Today in the Tokyo session, falling below the level of the previous trading day and setting a new low of 149.08 not long after GMT 03:30.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:00 on October 21), the middle line is trending down and the price itself is trading below that level, suggesting bearish sentiment going forward.

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

Today's main economic indicators are as follows.

• GMT 14:00 U.S. September Leading Index (MoM)