When is BOJ minutes statement and how could it affect the USD/JPY?

Early on Tuesday morning in Asia, 23:50 GMT on Monday for the rest, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will release monetary policy minutes of its meeting held on December 19. Although no major policy change was announced during the meeting, traders will seek clues of future rate alterations after the recent criticism of too-low interest rates. Also supporting the argument is the fiscal stimulus from the Japanese government.

Hence, investors will be on the lookout for signs of major disagreements between the policymakers for the near-term direction of the USD/JPY pair.

Will Kuroda continue to dominate?

The BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has been holding his bearish bias. In his press conference after the meeting, the policymaker even signaled to deepen negative rates. Further, soft statistics fail to match the upbeat prints of Japanese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and could keep the Kuroda in the position to influence others on the board. On the contrary, Japan’s massive stimulus and the recent criticism of too-low interest rates from the Prime Minister’s adviser Koichi Hamada might push other policymakers into different directions.

How could it affect USD/JPY?

While recent risk-off has more to do with the USD/JPY pair than the BOJ Minutes, considering the already taken place BOJ and statement from Governor Kuroda, only a big surprise from the outcome could lead to any major moves of the pair.

Technically, 21-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) near 109.10 offers immediate support to the pair whereas buyers will stay away until the pair crosses 109.75/80 resistance area. If prices break any of these levels, the monthly low near 108.40 and 110.00 round-figure will be in focus respectively.

Key notes

USD/JPY: US-China tension exert downside pressure ahead of BOJ Minutes

USD/JPY Forecast: Trapped between dollar’s weakness and Wall Street’s rally

About BOJ Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes

The Bank of Japan publishes a study of economic movements in Japan after the actual meeting. These meetings are held to review economic developments inside and outside of Japan and indicate a sign of a new fiscal policy. Any changes in this report tend to affect the JPY volatility. Generally speaking, if the BoJ minutes show a hawkish outlook, that is seen as positive (or bullish) for the JPY, while a dovish outlook is seen as negative (or bearish).