USD/JPY On A Roll, Kishida To Lead LDP Into General Election

USD/JPY crossed above key resistance from Y111.66, which represents Jul 2 high, as the greenback caught a bid in the lead-up to the end of the third quarter. The yen was the second best performer in G10 FX space but greenback strength pushed the rate to its best levels since Feb 2020.

• Fumio Kishida beat Taro Kono to become the new LDP leader and is set to be named Japan's 100th Prime Minister on Monday. In the meantime, headlines surrounding potential nominations for LDP executive officials and Cabinet members may trickle through today.
• NHK reported that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will lower the Covid-19 alert level by one notch from the highest level, the decision will be made by the Covid-19 panel today.
• Japanese data highlights during the remainder of this week include flash industrial output & retail sales (due shortly) as well as BoJ Tankan Survey, unemployment & final Jibun Bank M'fing PMI (coming up Friday).
• Elsewhere, BoJ Gov Kuroda will speak at a JASDA conference this afternoon, while the central bank will publish the summary of opinions from their latest monetary policy meeting on Friday.
• USD/JPY trades flat at Y111.97 at typing. Bulls look to a move through Feb 20, 2020 high of Y112.23, which would shift focus to Apr 24, 2019 high of Y112.40. Bears need a pullback under Sep 8 high of Y110.45 to get some reprieve.