The Japanese Yen traded 0.3% higher against the US Dollar at near 157.60 in European trade as the US Dollar Index corrected 0.15% to near 101.88 from its yearly high of 102.20, with investors focused on the September US Nonfarm Payrolls report due at 12:30 GMT. OCBC analysts cited Bloomberg consensus expecting nonfarm payrolls to rise by 90,000 in September, down from 162,000 in August, with the unemployment rate forecast unchanged at 4.1%, and warned that the risk of an upside payrolls surprise appears to be increasing, which would reinforce expectations of further Fed tightening and support the USD. On the Yen front, Tokyo's Consumer Price Index for September came in stronger than projected, with Tokyo CPI excluding Fresh Food jumping to 2.7% year-on-year from 1.8% in August against a 2.4% estimate, while Tokyo CPI excluding Food and Energy accelerated to 3% year-on-year from 2%. On the daily chart, USD/JPY holds a mildly bullish near-term bias above its 20-period exponential moving average at 157.26, with immediate support at that level followed by the September 30 low at 156.38, and immediate resistance at the September 24 high of 159.04, above which the September 2 high at 160.39 is the key hurdle.
Tokyo CPI accelerated to 2.7% y/y, boosting BOJ tightening expectations and strengthening the yen against the dollar.
