Australia and New Zealand Bank: Bank of Japan's policy stance is cautious, the yen may remain at a level weaker than 150.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) stated that due to the Bank of Japan's cautious approach towards normalizing monetary policy, the yen's exchange rate against the US dollar may continue to be weaker than 150 yen. "Governor Kuroda's speech later today will be crucial, but he is likely to emphasize that he will adopt a data-driven, cautious attitude towards further rate hikes," strategist Felix Ryan said. "Given the recent tone of the Federal Reserve, the USD/JPY exchange rate may remain at high levels in the short term, as markets reevaluate the policy prospects of the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve." "We currently expect the Bank of Japan to refrain from further rate hikes until January 2026, after which they may hike rates by another 25 basis points at their April 2026 meeting, bringing the interest rate to 1%." "We believe that with market pricing adjusting to reflect the Bank of Japan's more cautious stance and the slowdown in rate hikes, the USD/JPY exchange rate will find support above 150 in the short term."