Yesterday the USDJPY turned to decline after hitting a high of 148.84 yen shortly after GMT 00:30, and reached a low of 147.65 yen shortly after GMT 14:30. The outlook for a U.S. government shutdown has heightened, creating a combination of risk-averse yen buying and dollar weakness. Trading for the day closed at 147.89 yen.

Today the USDJPY hit a high of 148.22 yen shortly after GMT 00:30, but when news of the U.S. government shutdown broke at GMT 04:00, the decline accelerated and reached a low of 147.46 yen around GMT 05:00.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:00 on October 1), the pair has broken below its consolidation range and the downtrend continues on this timeframe. With a break below 147.5 yen, the next target appears to be around the 147.0-yen level.

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

The main economic indicators for today are as follows:

• GMT 12:15 U.S. September ADP employment change
• GMT 13:45 U.S. September Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI, revised)
• GMT 14:00 U.S. September ISM Manufacturing PMI