Ella 
USD/JPY attracted some bargain hunting on the final day of the week and has steadily moved back towards the psychological 150.00 mark, or the near three-week high touched on Thursday.
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda reiterated on Friday that the central bank will maintain the current easing policy with patience to achieve the 2% inflation target stably and sustainably while achieving wage growth. This is a sharp departure from the hawkish outlook of the Federal Reserve (FED), which in turn is seen as a key factor in the relative underperformance of the Japanese Yen (JPY) and serves as a bullish factor for USD/JPY.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursday that the recent surge in yields is tightening financial conditions and reducing the need for the central bank to take more action. However, Powell noted that monetary policy has not yet become too tight and inflation remains too high, leaving the door open for at least one more rate hike before the end of the year. This helped revive the U.S. dollar (USD) and provided some support for USD/JPY, but the rally lacked bullish conviction.
Market participants appear confident that the Fed will maintain the status quo for the second consecutive month in November. This caused U.S. Treasury yields to fall slightly, discouraging dollar bulls from making rash bets. At the same time, traders remain concerned that Japan may intervene to prevent the yen from continuing to weaken. Beyond this, risk aversion should limit losses in the safe-haven yen and cap USD/JPY.
With no market-moving relevant economic data released on Friday, caution should be exercised before positioning for any further appreciation moves against the backdrop of the above fundamentals. Still, any meaningful corrective decline could still be viewed as a buying opportunity and is more likely to remain limited. Nonetheless, spot prices appear poised for a second straight week of modest gains at current levels.
