Yesterday the USDJPY reached a low of 151.82 at around GMT 22:00 before trading firmly, then hit a high of 152.79 shortly after GMT 16:00. The pair traded sideways in the upper 152-yen range, and trading for the day closed at 152.55.

Today the USDJPY has been trading firmly with yen selling advancing and no verbal intervention from Finance Minister Katayama. The pair reached a high of 153.01 at around GMT 05:00.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:20 on October 24), the upward trend continues from the consolidation phase. As long as the pair holds above 152.47, the upward trend appears likely to continue.

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

The main economic indicators for today are as follows:

• GMT 12:30 U.S. September Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• GMT 12:30 U.S. September Consumer Price Index (Core CPI)
• GMT 13:45 U.S. October Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)
• GMT 13:45 U.S. October Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)
• GMT 13:45 U.S. October Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)