On Friday of last week the market was awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the U.S. Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, but the USDJPY gradually moved higher and reached a high of 148.77 yen around GMT 05:00.

However, following Chairman Powell's remarks, expectations for U.S. rate cuts strengthened, triggering sharp dollar selling. The pair hit a low of 146.57 shortly after GMT 17:00 and trading for the week closed at 146.57 yen.

Today the USDJPY saw dollar buybacks following last week's decline, reaching a high of 147.52 yen shortly after GMT 00:30, but stalled there and as of GMT 04:00 is trading somewhat softly in the lower 147-yen range.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 04:00 on August 25), it has recovered from the sharp decline but has entered a phase of selling on rallies, pushed down by selling pressure again. If it fails to break above 147.52 yen, maintaining a bearish stance appears appropriate.

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

The main economic indicators for today are as follows:

• GMT 14:00 U.S. July New home sales