USD/JPY last trades at Y111.63, a........>

DOLLAR-YEN: USD/JPY last trades at Y111.63, a touch lower on the day, after

advancing 65 pips Thursday, nearing the upper end of its YTD range. A break

above the Apr 5 monthly high of Y111.82 would bring the Y112.00 mark into view.

Above here opens the Mar 5 YTD high of Y112.14. Meanwhile, a pullback through

the 200-DMA and 200-HMA, located at Y111.51 & Y111.39 respectively, would turn

bearish focus to the 21-DMA at Y111.09

- The bulk of USD/JPY's gains on Thursday was inspired by strong U.S. PPI &

jobless claims prints, which lifted the greenback to the top of the G10 pile.

- Worth noting the IMF's Japan Mission Chief Brekk told RTRS that "fiscal rather

than monetary policy should be the first line of defence in battling headwinds

to Japan's economy," adding that the BoJ should clarify the link between

inflation and its forward guidance.

- The Nikkei 225 futures are looking higher at writing.

- BoJ 1-5 &10-25+ Year Rinban ops are due later today, with no more Japanese

data releases or central bank speakers this week.