Last Friday, the USDJPY showed an upward trend directly after the market open , but declined following reports of potential Bank of Japan rate hike in January, falling below 158.00 around GMT 09:00.

When the U.S. employment data was released at GMT 13:30, strong results triggered dollar buying in the market, pushing the pair to a high of 158.87. However, it subsequently reversed course, hitting a low of 157.22 after GMT 15:00, and trading for the week ended at 157.66.

Today the USDJPY reached a high of 157.96 shortly after GMT 00:00 before turning downward, then hit a low of 157.27 after GMT 01:30. As of GMT 04:00, it is falling again, targeting the recent low.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 04:00, January 13), the middle line shows a downward slope, with trading between -1 standard deviation and -2 standard deviations. If it breaks below the January 10 low of 157.22, the pair could potentially fall below 157.00.

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

Today, no closely watched economic indicators are scheduled for release.