USD/JPY consolidates below 154.00 in Japan’s holiday-truncated week

• USD/JPY holds gains near 154.00 despite soft US Dollar.
• Weak US data builds pressure on the US Dollar.
• The speculation for Japan intervention to support the Japanese Yen remains firm.

The USD/JPY pair trades sideways slightly below 154.00 in Monday’s early American session. The asset consolidates as trading volume remain thin in Monday’s session due to holiday in Japanese markets on account of Children’s Day. The major struggles to move higher despite weak United States economic data sends the US Dollar on the backfoot

Poor US Nonfarm Payrolls and weak Services PMI have weighed on the US Dollar. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, fell slightly below of 105.00. The US NFP report released on Friday showed that fewer jobs were created and the joblessness rise, suggesting consequences of interest rates remaining higher by the Fed.

The market sentiment is risk-on amid firm expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will start reducing interest rates from the September meeting. The S&P 500 opens on a bullish note, suggesting strong demand for risk-sensitive assets. 10-year US Treasury yields rise slightly to 4.50% but have come down significantly on firm Fed rate-cut prospects.

While investors speculate for the Fed beginning to reduce interest rates from the September meeting. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said on Friday she would be willing to raise interest rates further if progress in inflation declining to the 2% stalls or reverses.

On the Tokyo front, investors see the Japan intervening to uplift the Japanese Yen against the US Dollar. However, Japan’s intervention is a short-term support and won’t bring any fundamental change in the Japanese Yen. Investors want to see evidence which could bring confidence over wage growth spiral.