On Friday of last week the USDJPY rose to the 147.8-yen range shortly after GMT 05:30 following Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda's speech, which signaled a cautious approach toward further monetary tightening. However, the pair failed to extend its gains afterward, and trading for the day closed at 147.40 yen.

Today the USDJPY opened with an upward gap of more than 2 yen in response to the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election results. The pair surged past 150 yen shortly after GMT 03:30, and as of GMT 04:30, it is trading firmly in the 150.1-yen range.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 04:40 on October 6), the Bollinger Bands have expanded significantly, showing strong upward momentum. The August high in the 150.9-yen range appears to be the next target.

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

Today, no closely watched economic indicators are scheduled for release.