On Friday of last week, after hitting a high of 157.92 around GMT 00:00, the USDJPY turned downward due to Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato's comments that pushed the market towards a weaker yen and position adjustments.

The U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) released at GMT 13:30 came in slightly worse than expected, fueling dollar selling, and reached a low of 155.93 shortly after GMT 17:30. Trading for the week closed at 156.37.

Today the USDJPY hit a high of 156.69 around GMT 01:00 but failed to extend gains, and traded in a range-bound market in the 156.6 to 156.3 range.

This being Christmas week, market participation is expected to be low with no clear indication of direction.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 03:40), after recovering from near -2 standard deviations to around the middle line, it has remained steady, but if it breaks below 156, downward momentum could accelerate.

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

The main economic indicators for today are as follows:

• GMT 15:00 U.S. November New home sales