Yesterday the USDJPY hit a low of 155.70 yen shortly after GMT 04:30 as an interview by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda raised expectations for a rate hike in March. Initial jobless claims for the previous week, released at GMT 13:30, showed resilience in the U.S. labor market, and the pair reached a high of 156.43 yen around GMT 18:30 but failed to extend gains, with the pair closing the day at 156.11 yen.

Today the USDJPY is trading softly as negotiations between the U.S. and Iran concluded and geopolitical risk-driven dollar buying has subsided. The price reached a low of 155.53 yen shortly after GMT 04:30.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:10 on February 27), there appears to be resistance around 156.0 yen, and as long as this level holds, the downward bias should continue. A break below 155.34 yen is likely to be the next key level to watch.

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

The main economic indicators for today are as follows:

• GMT 13:30 U.S. January Producer Price Index (PPI)
• GMT 13:30 U.S. January Producer Price Index (core PPI excluding food and energy)
• GMT 14:45 U.S. February Chicago Purchasing Managers Index