The Bank of Japan decided not to change the monetary policy parameters at the December meeting. The interest rate is still -0.1%. Moreover, BoJ also declares that it will maintain yields of 10-year bonds around 0.00% by buying bonds worth 80 trillion yen annually. Only Goushi Kataoka, who is afraid of delays in meeting the inflation target, is an advocate of further loosening of monetary policy. Although the outlook for the economy remains better, Kuroda thinks it is too early to think about the normalization of monetary policy in a situation when inflation stays below the target. During the press conference, Governor Kuroda said, that there has been some improvement in prices in 2017 as the global exports and output have improved with the global economy. Moreover, according to him, the labor shortages are not holding back the economy and BoJ will adjust policy as needed to maintain momentum towards 2.0% price target.
Let's now take a look at the USD/JPY technical picture at the H4 time frame. There was no major USD/JPY reaction to the outcome of the BoJ meeting, but USD/JPY rates are heading to the local maximum at 113.75. This technical resistance level should stop the price as the market conditions are now starting to be overbought. Nevertheless, in a case of a further breakout higher, the next important technical resistance is seen at the level of 114.40.
