Yesterday the USDJPY hit a low of 151.23 around GMT 23:30 (on February 17), then rebounded to reach a high of 152.22 around GMT 05:00, but failed to extend gains further, moving in a narrow range between the upper 151-yen and lower 152-yen levels.

Today the USDJPY was focused on the speech by hawkish Bank of Japan board member Hajime Takata. However, there were no surprises, and after hitting a low of 151.75 around GMT 01:30 and a high of 152.31 around GMT 02:00, the pair has been trading in the upper 151-yen range.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 03:50 on February 19), while the price is fluctuating above and below +1 standard deviation, the middle line remains horizontal, making it difficult to grasp a clear directional trend.

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

The main economic indicators for today are as follows:

• GMT 13:30 U.S. January Housing starts
• GMT 13:30 U.S. January Building permits
• GMT 19:00 U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting Minutes