Yen Surges On Monday Amid Intervention Speculation, Onshore Markets Return Today

Yen volatility dominated Monday's session, amid speculation of official intervention in the pair. From earlier multi decade highs (160.17), we ultimately sunk to 154.54 by late Asia Pac/early Europe trade. The pair couldn't recapture the 157.00 handle after these lows. In early Tuesday trade we track in the 156.20/25 region. Yen posted a 1.25% gain for Monday's session.

• Broader USD losses were evident, with the BBDXY down 0.40%, but yen was the top performer in the G10 space.
• There has been no official confirmation on intervention from Japanese authorities, with top currency official Kanda stating he has ‘no comment for now’ and that the market will find out of possible intervention when data is posted in late May.
• Yesterday was a public holiday in Japan markets which no doubt impacted liquidity, but may have been seen by the authorities as an opportune time to intervene. Onshore markets return today.
• In terms of downside levels to watch in the pair, we have 154.01, the 20-day EMA. The 50-day EMA lies at 151.91. The trend technical outlook still looks bullish, but we remain in overbought conditions.
• The local data calendar swings back into gear today, with the March Jobless rate, retail sales IP and later on housing starts.