USD/JPY Takes Out Y104 Mark, Speculation Surrounding Tokyo Olympics Continues

USD/JPY surged past the Y104.00 mark on Wednesday, as the greenback caught a bid ahead of the month-end & monetary policy decision from the FOMC. The rate remained buoyant as the FOMC left its MonPol settings unchanged. USD/JPY showed at its best levels in almost two weeks, testing Jan 14 high of Y104.20.

• The results of an NHK survey suggested that a majority of Japanese companies think that the Tokyo Olympics should go ahead in July. This contrasts with opinions expressed by the general public, with a wide majority of respondents favouring a postponement or cancellation of the event. Elsewhere, IOC chief said that the organisation is "gaining even more confidence from the effectiveness of the countermeasures which are being applied at sports events right now." Elsewhere, the WSJ cited the Japanese organisers as "if [Pres Biden] makes a positive statement about the Olympics going ahead, we'd gain strong momentum."
• Japan's 7-Eleven sold $10.95bn of bonds to fund its purchase of Speedway gas stations in the U.S., attracting $62bn of investor demand.
• Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections were set for Jul 4, with official campaigning due to start from Jun 25.
• U.S. Pres Biden & Japanese PM Suga spoke by phone, touching upon issues ranging from the pandemic to regional security issues.
• USD/JPY last trades at Y104.12, little changed on the day. Bulls keep an eye on Jan 27 & 14 highs of Y104.20 and a break above there would open up Jan 11 high of Y104.40. On the downside, focus falls on Jan 21 low/61.8% retracement of the Jan 6 - 11 rally at Y103.33/28, followed by the 76.4% Fibo support at Y103.02.
• Japan's retail sales come out shortly, with unemployment, Tokyo CPI & flash industrial output due tomorrow.