It’s a triple whammy for the Japanese yen currency in trading this week. The first was the weekend news that Sanae Takaichi, a big fiscal dove, won the LDP leadership elections. That in itself already led to USD/JPY opening with a gap higher on Monday, which saw the daily close take out the 150.00 level.
Adding to the situation now is that Takaichi is having to deal with a coalition backlash with Komeito leader, Tetsuo Saito, openly questioning her suitability as the leader of the coalition. Both parties are unable to come to an agreement and that’s presenting some added uncertainty to Japan’s political climate.
And on the week itself now, we have that firm break above the July high for USD/JPY which opens up the floodgates for the next leg higher. That after the break of 150.00 and the hold above the 100-week moving average of 149.67, which follows from almost three months of consolidation action in the pair.
The move higher now is afforded some breathing room with the next key resistance region being closer to the 155.00 mark.
The jump higher in USD/JPY is also helping to underpin the dollar this week, as the greenback continues to find bids in European trading today as well.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.