Yesterday the USDJPY saw strong dollar buying throughout the session, as rising oil prices linked to the Middle East crisis spread expectations that Federal Reserve rate cuts would be pushed further out. The pair hit a high of 157.66 shortly after GMT 15:30, after which the rally paused, though it held the 157-yen range. Trading for the day closed at 157.26 yen.

Today the USDJPY continued to see yen weakness driven by higher oil prices, as in the previous session, touching a high of 157.59 around GMT 01:00. However, follow-through buying has been cautious, and as of GMT 05:00 the pair remains flat in the lower end of the 157-yen range.

Looking at the 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:20 on March 3), the pair has already broken above the early-February high of 157.65, with support holding near the 157.11 level. The bias remains to the upside, but with topside momentum fading after entering the 157-yen range, this is a moment that calls for a cautious approach.

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

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