On Friday of last week the USDJPY saw dollar selling driven by concerns over escalating U.S.-China trade tensions along with spreading credit anxieties stemming from fraudulent lending issues in the U.S., with the pair hitting a low of 149.37 yen shortly after GMT 07:00. Buybacks then entered the market, and the pair reached a high of 150.63 yen shortly after GMT 20:30, with trading for the day closed at the highs.

Today the USDJPY was supported by yen weakness as the Liberal Democratic Party and Japan Innovation Party effectively agreed to form a coalition government, creating expectations that Takaichi will become Prime Minister. The pair reached a high of 151.20 yen shortly after GMT 01:00, but the rally has now paused, and as of GMT 05:00 the pair is trading in the upper 150-yen range.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:00 on October 20), the middle line is sloping upward, but the price has not yet exceeded the starting point of the decline that marked the chart's lowest point. If the pair can break above resistance near 151.40 yen, it would be appropriate to shift to a bullish outlook.

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

Today, no highly influential economic indicators are scheduled for release.