Yesterday the USDJPY saw accelerated risk-averse yen buying due to receding hopes for a Ukraine ceasefire, breaking below 150 around GMT 06:30.

The poor U.S. initial jobless claims data released at GMT 13:30 further spurred dollar selling. Around GMT 17:30, the price touched a low of 149.39, and trading for the day closed at 149.61.

Today the USDJPY touched a low of 149.27 around GMT 23:30 (on February 20), then sharply rebounded following comments from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda. Around GMT 02:30, it reached a high of 150.73.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 04:00 on February 21), while the sharp rebound temporarily exceeded +2 standard deviations, unless the price breaks above the recent high of 150.73 again, 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 14:45 U.S. February Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)
• GMT 15:00 U.S. February Michigan Consumer Sentiment
• GMT 15:00 U.S. January Existing home sales