USD/JPY rise above 115.00 when bullish track hits 44-month high

The USD/JPY bull is breathing around 115.10 after a spike that broke a multi-month high earlier on Wednesday. At the same time, the yen is struggling to extend its two-day rally amid falling US Treasury yields. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 0.8 basis points (bps) from its highest level since October 22, or about 1.65% at the latest, amid a lack of significant data/events. Yields jumped to a one-month high before mixed US data stopped bonds rising. Geopolitical concerns and recent COVID-19 concerns appear to be playing a challenging role for USD/JPY buyers in recent times.

Japan’s geopolitical tensions with China are escalating over issues related to Vietnam. The defense ministers of Japan and Vietnam reached an agreement on the 10th that “they are opposed to secretly mentioning the sea in response to a unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the region said Kyodo News.” The Netherlands is experiencing a COVID-19 crisis and has recently announced regional closures, but the situation has not improved, driving demand for the Japanese yen, especially amid falling yields.

“The Netherlands started transporting COVID-19 patients across the border to Germany on Tuesday to ease pressure on Dutch hospitals, which are scaling back regular care to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases,” said Reuters. Also positive for the JPY could be the improvement in COVID-19 conditions at home and the government’s readiness to help the nation overcome the pandemic led economic hardships. Recently, Nikkei reported that Japan will allocate about 600 billion yen ($5.2 billion) from its fiscal 2021 supplementary budget to support advanced semiconductor manufacturers including the world’s No. 1 contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), per Reuters. Against this backdrop, US equity futures are struggling to maintain their rebound from their two-week lows, while Asia Pacific stocks are trading alongside the Japanese Nikkei 225, down 0.80% at press time. USD/JPY could see further declines when considering the consolidation of returns along with a cautious outlook ahead of major US data/events.

Recent FOMC minutes and October PCE core inflation are among the catalysts for the US as expectations for a Fed rate hike rise. Against this backdrop, US equity futures are struggling to maintain their rebound from their two-week lows, while Asia Pacific stocks are trading alongside the Japanese Nikkei 225, down 0.80% at press time. USD/JPY could see further declines when considering the consolidation of returns along with a cautious outlook ahead of major US data/events.