USD/JPY last trades at Y109.40, 15.......>

DOLLAR-YEN: USD/JPY last trades at Y109.40, 15 pips lower on the day, as the

Nikkei 225 index futures moved into negative territory ahead of the Tokyo cash

equity open. Worth noting the BoJ released its Dec meeting minutes today, with 1

member saying that there is room for revising JGB buying. 

- This comes after the pair lost 9 pips Friday, with both sides of the rate

sitting at the bottom of the G10 pile. As a reminder, early Tokyo hours Friday

saw a stronger than exp. Tokyo CPI print, with the core reading accelerating to

1.1% in Jan, but still well shy of the BoJ's 2% target. 

- Bears have managed to break below Friday's low of $109.46 and now target the

21-DMA at Y109.01. Conversely, bulls keep an eye on Friday's high of Y109.95,

followed by the Jan 23 YTD high of Y110.00. 

- Japanese focus this week turns to retail sales due Weds, industrial output due

Thurs, labour mkt data due Fri & usual BoJ Rinban ops.Elsewhere, BoJ Dep Gov

Amamiya & BoJ Dep Gov Nakaso will speak Thursday (alongside PM Abe), while the

BoJ summary of opinions from its Jan MonPol meeting comes out on the same day.