{"id":29926,"date":"2026-03-05T06:59:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T06:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/uncategorized\/29926\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T06:59:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T06:59:56","slug":"the-yen-steadies-near-157-00-as-usd-jpy-retreats-0-42-from-157-90-weekly-peaks-earlier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/live-updates\/29926\/","title":{"rendered":"The Yen steadies near 157.00 as USD\/JPY retreats 0.42% from 157.90 weekly peaks earlier"},"content":{"rendered":"USD\/JPY fell 0.42% on Wednesday to about 157.00 after trading near 157.90 earlier. The pair has ranged between roughly 152.00 and 159.00 since late January. \n\nSafe-haven demand for the US Dollar eased, helping the Yen recover slightly. Middle East tensions remained a main driver of broader US Dollar demand. \n\n

Strait Of Hormuz Shock<\/h3> \nUS and Israeli strikes on Iran led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Higher crude oil prices added pressure to the Yen because Japan relies heavily on energy imports. \n\nJapan\u2019s Finance Minister Katayama said authorities are monitoring the currency\u2019s decline. The Bank of Japan is holding rates at 0.75%, and recent volatility has raised the chance of no March hike. \n\nIn US data, ADP payrolls rose by 63K and ISM Services PMI came in at 56.1. The remaining high-impact releases this week are Friday\u2019s US Nonfarm Payrolls and Retail Sales. \n\nOn the daily chart, USD\/JPY was at 157.07, with resistance at 157.70 and 158.40, then 160.00. Support sits near 156.00 and 155.30, then 153.00. \n\n

How The Backdrop Changed<\/h3> \nLooking back at the events of early 2025, we recall the extreme tension when USD\/JPY was trading near 157.00 due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Today, with the pair trading much lower around 148.50, that period serves as a stark reminder of how quickly geopolitical risk can impact the yen. The easing of Middle East tensions throughout late 2025 allowed the focus to shift back to monetary policy fundamentals. \n\nThe policy divergence that drove the dollar higher last year has reversed significantly. While the Bank of Japan held rates at 0.75% during the March 2025 turmoil, they eventually hiked twice later in the year to 1.25%, where the rate currently stands. This, combined with the Federal Reserve\u2019s two recent quarter-point cuts, has narrowed the U.S.-Japan 10-year yield spread to just under 3.3% from its peak of over 4.1% a year ago. \n\nFor derivative traders, this means implied volatility is now much lower than the elevated levels seen during the 2025 crisis. Three-month implied volatility for USD\/JPY is currently hovering near 8.5%, a sharp contrast to the levels above 15% we saw during the shipping disruptions. This makes buying options relatively cheap, presenting an opportunity to position for future moves without the high premiums of last year. \n\nRecent data reinforces the potential for renewed yen strength. Last week’s Tokyo Core CPI came in at 2.8%, beating expectations and fueling speculation that the Bank of Japan may signal another rate hike by summer. This stands in contrast to softening U.S. labor market data, which keeps the door open for further Fed easing. \n\nTherefore, strategies should shift from the crisis-driven positioning of 2025. Given the lower volatility, purchasing long-dated JPY calls (or USD\/JPY puts) offers a cost-effective way to speculate on a continued policy divergence that favors the yen. The 160.00 level that seemed possible a year ago is now a distant resistance, with traders instead using options to target a move toward the 145.00 support zone.\n\nCreate your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b>\n

\r\n\r\n

Start trading now – Click here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

USD\/JPY slid to 157.00 as easing dollar demand, Middle East tensions, and oil prices pressured yen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29926\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}