USD/JPY Weakens Ahead of Nonfarm Payrolls as Japan Shows Strong Inflation
The US Dollar (USD) has weakened against the Japanese Yen (JPY) ahead of the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for September, which will be published on Friday at 12:30 GMT. The USD/JPY pair is currently trading near 157.60, down 0.3% from its previous levels. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the Greenback against six major currencies, has corrected to 101.88 after reaching a yearly high of 102.20 on Thursday.
According to analysts at OCBC, Bloomberg consensus expects nonfarm payrolls to rise by 90,000 in September, down from 162,000 in August, while the unemployment rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 4.1%. They point out that recent jobless claims data have continued to trend lower, suggesting labor market conditions remain firm.
The Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for September showed stronger-than-projected inflation, with Tokyo CPI ex. Fresh Food jumping to 2.7% Year-on-Year (YoY) from 1.8% in August. This has provided support to the Japanese Yen against the US Dollar.
The USD/JPY pair holds a mildly bullish near-term bias as it trades above the 20-period exponential moving average (EMA) at 157.26. The Relative Strength Index (14) at 51.50 sits just above its neutral line, hinting at a steady upswing rather than aggressive trending conditions.