Key events today:

12:30 UTC: USD – Unemployment Rate.

The Japanese yen continues its consolidated price movement amid fluctuating expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike.

A softer tone in risk sentiment, fears of a trade war, and geopolitical risks may support the safe-haven yen.

Moderate dollar strength could provide tailwinds for the USD/JPY pair ahead of the U.S. NFP report.

The Japanese yen (JPY) struggles to hold the modest gains from the previous day and trades in a narrow range against its American counterpart during the Asian session on Friday. At the same time, near-term trends favor yen bulls as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) adopts a more hawkish stance. In fact, the BoJ continues to raise interest rates, while other major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), maintain their course of lowering borrowing costs.

Additionally, a slight deterioration in global risk sentiment, persistent geopolitical tensions, and trade war concerns continue to support the safe-haven yen. Meanwhile, the recent decline in U.S. Treasury yields keeps the dollar (USD) near multi-week lows, further contributing to the yen’s strength. Nevertheless, traders prefer to await the U.S. Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report for cues on the Fed’s rate-cut outlook before making new directional bets on the USD/JPY pair.

Recommendations: Watch the 150.00 level, trading primarily with Buy orders.