© Dukascopy Bank SA
The third most popular currency pair on the foreign exchange market gained considerable value during the last trading week. The USD/JPY cross was broadly influenced by news from Japan, where the Bank of Japan decided to expand its quantitative easing program to 80 trillion yen. The regulator is also planning to buy more government securities. At the same time, the US Federal Reserve ended its third asset purchases program in almost six years, which pushed the American currency even higher against the Japanese yen. Besides that, the cross was noticeably influenced by other fundamentals news from both countries, including US GDP and core durable goods orders, Japanese household spending and industrial production. The pair hovered in a mixed environment during first free days of the October 27-31 week; however, the Japanese currency started to depreciate on Wednesday. Starting the week around the 108 major level, the US Dollar surged to close at 112.31 on Friday. In line with the pair's developments, 56% of all traders forecasted the pair to advance.
Market sentiment on the present currency cross changed just a little from the previous trading week, as now around 54% of Dukascopy Community members suggest that Dollar will continue appreciating versus the Japanese yen. In addition that, the traders think that the pair will consolidate in its value to reach the 110.2 level at the end of this week on November 7. On Wednesday, the Bank of Japan will publish the minutes of its October 6-7 meeting. Moreover, traders could pay increased attention to labor market statistics in the United States, including employment change and the unemployment rate. Additionally, the Institute for Supply Management is going to release the Non-Manufacturing PMI indicator on Wednesday.
© Dukascopy Bank SA