USD/JPY: Neutral bias, yen to maintain funding currency status – ING

Analysts at ING, see the USD/JPY pair trading with a neutral bias the next week and expect it to move in the 108.10/109.50 range. Their one-month target is 108.00. 

Key Quotes: 

“After some recent sharp dislocation, the Japanese Government Bond market looks a little more under control – helped by a rally in US Treasuries. The BoJ probably doesn’t mind the JGB sell-off too much, given its preference to steepen the yield curve and help the local banking system. Barring a surprise break-down in US-China trade negotiations, we see the coming week as a reasonably benign one – meaning that USD/JPY should be range-bound to slightly higher. True the US data has been softening a little, but the industrial slow-down is well-priced and, so far, the US consumer (like consumers elsewhere in the world) is holding up quite well.”

“Locally Japan sees October trade data and also the national CPI figure for October. The latter is rarely a market mover and the core rate, expected at 0.4% YoY, is still miles away from the BoJ’s target. Equally, the market doesn’t really believe the BoJ’s threats to take rates more negative – in fact, the BoJ has led the way in the tiering of deposits to protect the banking system from negative rates. In all, we expect a range-bound USD/JPY and the JPY to maintain funding currency status.”