The pair opened at Y103.26 and spent most of the morning in a holding pattern ahead of the Bank of Japan’s monthly policy announcement. Dollar-yen and other yen pairs rose earlier to their respective highs after Japanese stock markets opened slightly higher, with dollar-yen rising through last night’s Y103.41 US session high and then reaching Y103.44 while the cross gained to Y143.46 after opening at Y143.30. Dollar-yen then held near Y103.35 as euro-yen traded around Y143.30 while the market waited for the BOJ announcement amid a lack of any other major developments elsewhere. Dollar-yen was trading at Y103.38 as the BOJ announcement was made and it then slipped below Y103.30 while the cross also eased below Y143.30 in relatively muted dealings. Euro-yen was last at Y143.24 while dollar-yen was at Y103.26. Ahead, dollar-yen stops remain below Y102.80 with a close below needed to ease the bullish pressure and seebears targeting a retest of the Y102.12-33 region where 100-day and 21-day moving averages are noted.
