Yesterday the USDJPY reached a high of 152.31 around GMT 01:00, after which it remained range-bound in the upper 151-yen range.

Around GMT 15:00, it touched a low of 151.24, and temporarily rose ahead of the FOMC minutes release at GMT 19:00, but fell again after the minutes showed a stance to maintain interest rates, and trading for the day closed at 151.46.

Today the USDJPY has fallen below 151 as yen buying dominates due to uncertainty surrounding peace negotiations for the Ukraine war and expectations of additional Bank of Japan rate hikes. As of GMT 04:00, it is trading at 150.36.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 04:00 on February 20), it has broken below the February 7 low of 150.93. The downward trend appears likely to continue.

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

The main economic indicators for today are as follows:

• GMT 13:30 U.S. February Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
• GMT 13:30 U.S. Initial jobless claims for the previous week
• GMT 13:30 U.S. Continuing jobless claims for the previous week
• GMT 15:00 U.S. January Leading Index