Yesterday the USDJPY saw significant swings in both directions but lacked clear directional momentum. It reached a high of 155.34 around GMT 06:00, before pulling back and falling to 154.54 around GMT 12:00. It then recovered to the 155.3-yen range, and trading for the day closed at 154.95.

Today the USDJPY has seen yen selling dominate following weak Japanese CPI data, though growing awareness of geopolitical risks in the Middle East has weighed on the pair by fueling yen buying. As of GMT 04:30, the pair is trading in the lower 155-yen range.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 04:30 on February 20), the pair is gradually making higher lows, pointing to a broadly buy-side bias. As long as the pair holds above 154.54, 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 13:30 U.S. December Personal Income
• GMT 13:30 U.S. December Personal Spending
• GMT 13:30 U.S. Real gross domestic product (GDP), Q4
• GMT 13:30 U.S. Personal consumption (GDP), Q4 (preliminary)
• GMT 15:00 U.S. February Michigan Consumer Sentiment, final
• GMT 15:00 U.S. December New home sales