In the foreign exchange market for the week that ended on October 19th, the dollar weakened further against the yen. As market anxiety increased over reignited U.S.-China tensions, U.S. banking panic, and U.S. monetary policy, the USDJPY fell below the 150 yen level.

October 13 (Mon)

The market regained its calm after a sharp rise in the yen the previous Friday. The USDJPY rebounded to the 152.4 yen range as traders bought back the dollar.

The EURUSD fell to the 1.154 range but later rebounded to the 1.161 range. The GBPUSD hovered within the lower 1.33 range.

October 14 (Tue)

U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that he would again strengthen tariffs on imports from China. Traders took a risk-off stance to buy the yen for fear of a deteriorating U.S.-China relationship. The USDJPY fell to the 151.6 yen range.

Meanwhile, the EURUSD rose to the 1.161 range and the GBPUSD reached the 1.332 range after falling to the 1.324 range.

October 15 (Wed)

The dollar continued to weaken against major currencies as market fears of U.S.-China friction increased.

The USDJPY fell to just above 151 yen. Meanwhile, the EURUSD rose to the 1.164 range and the GBPUSD broke above the 1.34 level during trading hours.

October 16 (Thu)

The dollar continued to weaken against the yen throughout the day. After the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai) were reported to have reached a policy agreement, the dollar was bought back, lifting the USDJPY to 151.39 yen. However, the rally was short-lived, and the pair fell back to the 150.2 yen range.

Meanwhile, the EURUSD climbed to the 1.169 range, and the GBPUSD hovered at the mid-1.34 range.

October 17 (Fri)

While fears of an intensifying U.S.-China trade war persisted, credit uncertainty originating from bad loans held by U.S. regional banks triggered a sell-off of the dollar. During trading hours, the USDJPY dropped to the 149.3 yen range. It then rebounded to the 150.6 yen range to close the weekly session.

Meanwhile, the EURUSD rose to the 1.172 range but then fell back to the 1.164 range. The GBPUSD closed the weekly trading session at 1.341 after hitting 1.347.

October 23 (Thu)

• 23:30 Japan: September Consumer Price Index (CPI, all items, year-on-year data)
• 23:30 Japan: September Consumer Price Index (CPI, all items less fresh food)
• 23:30 Japan: September Consumer Price Index (CPI, all items less fresh food and energy)

October 24 (Fri)

• 12:30 U.S.: September Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• 12:30 U.S.: September Consumer Price Index (CPI Core Index)
• 14:00 U.S.: September new home sales

The following currency pair charts are analyzed using an overlay of the ±1σ and ±2σ standard deviation Bollinger Bands, with a 20-period moving average.

In Japan, the Diet will appoint a new prime minister on October 21st. If LDP President Sanae Takaichi is elected, the market will resume the sell-off of the yen, given her expansionist fiscal policies. Additionally, President Trump's forward-looking stance on the U.S.-China relationship will contribute to dollar buying.

Next is an analysis of the USDJPY daily chart.

The pair snapped three consecutive losses and rebounded on October 17th, forming a positive candlestick with a long lower wick. Meanwhile, the pair concluded last week's trading session above the intraday low of October 6th, when the most recent uptrend began after a wide upside gap was formed. It can be interpreted that the current short-term downtrend came to an end. Therefore, it is safe to say that the uptrend will likely continue.

We continue with an analysis of the USDJPY weekly chart.

Last week, the pair failed to make a weekly higher high, nor did it make a weekly lower low. Additionally, the middle line is maintaining an upward curve. The weekly chart suggests that the uptrend is continuing.

The fragile political scene in France is feared to descend into another disarray. Therefore, traders are hesitant to buy the euro. The market will be dominated by the dollar's behavior, which will be based on the development of the U.S.-China trade war and the U.S. employment situation.

Next is an analysis of the EURUSD daily chart.

After temporarily crossing below -2σ earlier, the pair closed the weekly trading session by rebounding to the middle line. Overall, however, the pair has been fluctuating within a range. Therefore, it is currently difficult to predict whether the pair will enter an uptrend or a downtrend, as the pair does not have a clear direction.

We continue with an analysis of the EURUSD weekly chart.

The bandwidth is narrowing, and the pair has been hovering within a tight range. If the pair clearly breaks above 1.1918, an uptrend will begin. Conversely, if the pair falls below 1.1391, a downtrend will begin.

The U.K. CPI for September is scheduled for release on October 22nd. If it shows positive figures, the pound will be bought. However, the sell-off of the dollar triggered by the prolonged U.S. government shutdown will contribute more to the preference for the pound. The market will also focus on U.S. economic figures to forecast the dollar's direction.

Next is an analysis of the GBPUSD daily chart.

The pair lacks a clear direction and has had a seesaw pattern for a long period. It will be good to follow the fluctuations within the band at shorter time intervals.

We continue with an analysis of the GBPUSD weekly chart.

As with the daily chart, the weekly chart shows that the pair lacks a clear direction. Additionally, the bandwidth is narrowing. If the pair goes below 1.3141, a downtrend could strengthen.