A preview of the January meeting of the Bank of Japan

Tomorrow, the Bank of Japan will hold its first meeting this year. Traditionally, investors do not expect the Japanese regulator to take any action on the parameters of monetary policy: the central bank will continue to purchase bonds for 80 trillion yen a year, the interest rate on deposits will remain at the level of -0.1%, and the target yield of 10-year government bonds-at about 0%. There are no prerequisites for any radical actions on the part of the central bank now, so the main attention of traders will be focused on the press conference of Haruhiko Kuroda.

Here it is worth recalling that since the summer of last year, a form of "sword of Damocles" hangs over the yen. The fact is that then the Japanese central bank expanded the range of the estimated rate, thus admitting the likelihood of monetary policy easing. And although since then Kuroda has not voiced such intentions on a practical plane ("scaring" only traders with a hypothetical probability), this fact has a background pressure on the yen. It is obvious that the regulator has reserved this scenario for the future, if inflation trends become negative. And given the weak growth rates of wages and inflation, now there is every reason for concern: at the January meeting, traders may well hear hints of a possible reduction in the interest rate to -0.2%.

The fact is that consumer prices excluding the cost of fresh food (this is the main indicator of inflation monitored by the Japanese regulator) in December fell to 7-month lows, continuing a consistent decline. Thus, the Core Inflation Rate in September-October was kept at the level of 1%, while in November it decreased to 0.9%, and in December - to 0.7%. At each meeting, Haruhiko Kuroda recalls that inflation remains below the two-percent target, and achieving it "requires a larger time range than previously thought". However, in this case, it can respond to the current negative trend with sharper wording of the "dovish" character.

Weak growth rates of consumer spending against the background of the decline in the oil market have created fertile ground for reducing inflation. Although oil prices showed positive dynamics during the last month, this is clearly not enough to reverse the situation as a whole. Therefore, tomorrow Kuroda can voice soft rhetoric, thereby exerting pressure on the national currency.

Another intrigue of the January meeting of the Bank of Japan is the possible expansion of the range of fluctuations in yield on 10-year government bonds. According to some experts, the regulator will allow a decrease in profitability in the negative area. Let me remind you that last summer the Japanese central bank decided to limit the fluctuations in yield in the range of -0.2% to + 0.2%. The minutes of the last meeting showed that one of the members of the regulator proposed to expand this range, arguing that the stagnation in this issue will neutralize the positive effect of soft monetary policy in the context of inflation expectations. However, there is no unambiguous position on this issue among the members of the regulator: the members of the Board of Governors of the Bank of Japan disagreed, de facto keeping the parameters of monetary policy at the same values.

What to expect from Haruhiko Kuroda following the results of tomorrow's meeting? First, a "dovish" rhetoric. And although the market has long been accustomed to the soft position of the head of the Japanese central bank, tomorrow it may still surprise the market if it allows an interest rate reduction in the foreseeable future. Second, the regulator may lower its forecast for inflation and GDP growth this year. The probability of such a step is quite high, given the recent inflation trends. Thirdly, Kuroda can comment on the issue of a possible expansion of the yield fluctuation range on 10-year government bonds.

The rhetoric of the head of the Bank of Japan can put significant pressure on the yen, especially if it goes beyond the usual theses (and there are prerequisites for this). In this case, the USD/JPY pair can demonstrate a pulse growth to the first resistance level of 111.05 – this is the upper line of the Bollinger Bands indicator on the daily chart.

In general, from a technical point of view, the Ichimoku Kinko Hyo indicator currently demonstrates one of its strongest signals, the Golden Cross, in which the price fixed above the crossed lines of Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen, while the Kumo cloud is still above the price chart . This signal indicates the upward direction of the pair. Also, the upward movement is confirmed by the location of the price between the middle and upper lines of the Bollinger Bands indicator, which began to narrow its channel. The support level is the Tenkan-sen line, which corresponds to 108.80. And the resistance level is the upper line of the Bollinger Bands indicator - the price is 111.05.