USD/JPY downside reaches limit as Fed 50bp cut odds drop
Sept 6 (Reuters) -The U.S. payrolls report catalyzed a fresh leg lower in USD/JPY on Friday, though the release was somewhat of a mixed bag on second look, allowing key levels to hold firm on the downside, as the Aug. 5 low remained intact at 141.68.
The data also failed to provide clarity as to the size of the Fed’s widely expected September rate cut, until Governor Christopher Waller appeared to signal a slight lean towards a 25bps move, even after the jobs report. As a result, markets now attach 23% chance of a 50bps, down from 45% pre-NFP.
Waller's has been a bellwether at times, so his comments may set the tone for the upcoming policy meeting. While Waller left the door open to front-loading rate cuts, this was conditioned on “new data”, which perhaps suggests the data after Friday’s payrolls release.
Though CPI is scheduled next week, it is clear that the focus has shifted to labor market outcomes in guiding the Fed’s policy path. For now, it does not appear as though expectations are gravitating toward a 50bps rate cut.
On the other end of the central bank spectrum, former Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda signaled that Japanese rates were a long way from neutral – which may strike some as reminiscent of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's 2018 "long way from neutral" declaration. However, Kuroda is no longer at the BoJ, so his comments are unlikely to be notably market moving.
On the other hand, his view on the neutral rate is unlikely to be too dissimilar from the current BoJ’s. In turn, while the reduced prospect a 50bps Fed cut may allow for a bounce in USD/JPY, hawkish BoJ risks will likely see traders maintain a bias for fading rallies.
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(Justin McQueen is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.)
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