USD/JPY continues Powell-led declines to fresh 14-week low, BOJ's Kuroda, and US PCE Inflation in the horizon

As Tokyo opens on Thursday, USD/JPY bears take advantage of the weakening US Dollar to mark the lowest level in more than three months near 137.30. In addition to falling US Treasury bond yields and a risk-on market mentality, the recent depreciation of the Yen could be attributed to a weaker yen.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell made his first public appearance since the November Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting by speaking at the Brookings Institution about the economic outlook, inflation, and employment. The official noted that it makes sense to reduce the rate of interest rate increases and speculated that this might occur as soon as the December meeting. Lisa D. Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, praised the inflation figures as evidence that the Fed will likely take fewer steps in the future.

Following Powell's speech, market bets supporting a 50 basis point (bps) rate hike by the Federal Reserve in December increased from 69.9% prior to the speech to over 75%, resulting in a depreciation of the US Dollar and a rise in Treasury yields, while equities appreciated.

As a result, the US Dollar Index (DXY) shattered a three-day uptrend on Wednesday, exhibiting the steepest daily fall in a week and the largest monthly decline in 12 years. Notable is the fact that Wall Street benchmarks responded favourably to Fed Chair Yellen's dovish remarks, while 10-year Treasury bond yields reversed early gains to end November on a negative note near 3.61 percent.

In addition to Fedspeak, the poor US statistics and optimism on China's Covid situation also weighed on USD/JPY prices. Among these, the US ADP Employment Change received the most attention, as its November result of 127K constituted the lowest readings since January 2021, compared to the 200K expected and 239K previous results. In addition, China reported just over 38,000 daily cases of Coronavirus on Tuesday, which was reported on Wednesday, indicating the second consecutive day of declining virus levels after the record high was updated. The gradual easing of virus-driven activity restrictions in major cities such as Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, and Chongqing looked to have favored Yen pair sellers.

Moving forward, the Fed's favored inflation measure, namely the US Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index for October, which is forecasted to increase to 5.0% YoY in October from 5.1% in September, will be key for near-term USD/JPY fluctuations. The US ISM Manufacturing PMI for November will also be significant, with a predicted reading of 49.8 compared to 50.2 earlier. Recent rumors regarding the possible tightening of monetary policy by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) in 2023 are the focal point of Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's address today.