Saturday, September 13, 2014

Maybank FX Flash - USD/JPY: New Year-End Target at 108



USD/JPY: New Year-End Target at 108

§ USD/JPY rose above the 107-handle as investors hung on to BOJ Governor Kuroda’s comments yesterday that the central bank would not hesitate to act to bolster the economy. However, this could be an overshoot as speculators chose to ignore the other part of the governor’s comments that he saw no need to act now given steady progress toward meeting its price target. So pullbacks are possible and should be an opportunity to buy.
§ As for the JPY/SGD, the cross has broken below the 1.18-handle, sighted around 1.1785 current – a low not seen since 1998. The resilience of the USD/SGD so far, suggests that moves are largely due to the USD/JPY. Given the current weakness in the JPY, we reckon that moves below the 1.17-handle are possible in the near term, though the grind lower is likely to be gradual. Look for the 1.16-handle to provide support.
§ Given recent bullish tones in the dollar on expectations of Fed normalization next year, we now expect the USD/JPY to bounce higher by the end of the year with the possibility of the pair hitting 110. However, the lack of progress on the third arrow of Abenomics and the likelihood that BOJ would not pursue further policy easing this year suggest that upside moves by the USD/JPY could be capped with the pair now expected to end the year at 108 (previous: 105) and remain there for the next three-months.

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