USDJPY carries enormous risk as BoJ continues to defend 25bps
.png)
Japanese authorities intervened on Friday to support the JPY. According to Reuters, the cost was over ¥5tn (around $36bn). The USDJPY monthly chart shows the forex pair's parabolic move for 2022. It has appreciated 44.6% YTD. The reason is that the BoJ has adopted a policy to defend the 25bps level for JGBs against the Fed's aggressive rate hike regime.
However, the BoJ won't be able to maintain this policy indefinitely. The monthly RSI is severely overbought (green rectangle), symptomatic of the USDJPY's artificial weakness.
If the BoJ abandons the defense or alters it to a higher level, the market repercussions will be severe as USDJPY and JPY pairs reprice. Of course, it is anybody's guess when this might be. However, given the costs to prop up the yen, and its ineffectiveness, market participants should be very wary of the inherent risks when trading USDJPY and JPY crosses.
Russell Shor
Senior Market Strategist
Russell Shor is a Senior Market Strategist at FXCM, having been promoted to the role in 2025 in recognition of his depth of insight and consistent delivery of high-impact market analysis. He originally joined FXCM in October 2017 as a Senior Market Specialist.
Russell holds an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of South Africa, is a certified FMVA®, and a full member of the Society of Technical Analysts (UK). With over 20 years of experience in financial markets, his work is renowned for its clarity, precision, and strategic value across asset classes.
Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, other information, or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an "as-is" basis, as general market commentary and do not constitute investment advice. The market commentary has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and it is therefore not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of dissemination. Although this commentary is not produced by an independent source, FXCM takes all sufficient steps to eliminate or prevent any conflicts of interests arising out of the production and dissemination of this communication. The employees of FXCM commit to acting in the clients' best interests and represent their views without misleading, deceiving, or otherwise impairing the clients' ability to make informed investment decisions. For more information about the FXCM's internal organizational and administrative arrangements for the prevention of conflicts, please refer to the Firms' Managing Conflicts Policy. Please ensure that you read and understand our Full Disclaimer and Liability provision concerning the foregoing Information, which can be accessed here.