On Friday of last week the USDJPY traded softly after hitting a high of 147.86 shortly after GMT 00:00, breaking below 147 around GMT 08:00. After touching a low of 146.73 around GMT 12:30, the decline stopped and the price recovered slightly, with trading for the week closing at 147.12 yen.

Today the USDJPY hit a low of 147.08 shortly after GMT 23:00 (on August 17), then moved higher with fluctuations, reaching a high of 147.58 shortly after GMT 02:00. As of GMT 05:00, it is trading in the lower 147-yen range.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:00 on August 18), the price has bottomed out and recovered to the mid-147-yen range, reaching a critical point where the market is watching whether selling on rallies will be effective. If the price breaks above 147.58 from here, the next target will likely be around the 148-yen level.

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

The main economic indicators for today are as follows:

• GMT 14:00 U.S. August NAHB Housing Market Index