USDJPY:
1. Price action immediately following BOJ this september was more than erratic but at the same time showed some consistency for those of you who can remember back to Julys performance - we moved instantly lower on the decision to 101 flat, before ripping 180pips higher to 102.8 to then lose most of the bids and trade back to the 101 base.
2. The BOJ decision itself, imo, was less than clear compared to July though and almost warranted this kind of whipsaw behaviour - especially given the anticipation (or not so much) of the Fed later today which is likely to mingle with risk sentiment and dollar leg of USDJPY the like at some point.
- The unclearness regarding whether the policy decision was net hawkish or dovish was given that there was no changes to the main policy tools (Depo, LSP, JGB, ETF), it would leave one thinking neutral-hawkish on expecttions - especially given a 5bps cut was the median BBG forecast. However, on the other hand, you had statements from BOJ including, "BOJ expanding its monetary base until it reaches its 2% inflation target" which is somewhat dovish given it puts never ending monthly JGB 80-100trn yen on the table for the next few years (unless the BOJ is delusional that less time is required). But at the same time this dovish statement was met by a bid from the BOJ to "increase yields for 10y JGB to 0%" and steepen the curve - which in itself is highly contradiction of ANY further expansion to the monetary base (given increases in money supply reduces rates). The BOJ knowing this then went on to cover saying "pace of purchases may fluctuate as to meet 0% target". Thus all in all the above, for me at least, left the overall decision uncertain at best. Given we are only 0.2% down it would be fair to say the outcome was infact neutral.
Neutral BOJ and No hike Hawkish Fed was my prediction before (see attached) and i stand behind the 100 level being reached as USD demand is likely to be flushed at some level when the 10-20% priced into USD fed funds is flushed out.
BOJ Decision:
JAPAN BOJ RATE DECISION STAYS FLAT AT -0.1 % (FCAST -0.1 %) VS PREV -0.1 %
BOJ DECIDES TO SET TARGET FOR LONG TERM INTEREST RATES
JAPAN BOJ BASE MONEY TARGET STAYS FLAT AT 80 TLN JPY (FCAST 80.00 TLN JPY) VS PREV 80.00 TLN JPY
BOJ: ADOPTS QQE WITH YIELD CURVE CONTROL
BOJ: TO ABANDON MONETARY BASE TARGET
BOJ SAYS NO OFFICIAL BASE MONEY TARGET, BUT MAINTAINS ANNUAL PACE OF JGB BUYING AT 80 TRLN YEN
BOJ: TO KEEP BUYING JGBS SO BALANCE OF ITS HOLDINGS INCREASES AT ANNUAL PACE OF 80 TRLN YEN
BOJ: INTRODUCES NEW MARKET OPS FOR YIELD CURVE CONTROL
BOJ: TO BUY JGBS SO 10 YR YIELD HOVERS AROUND 0 PCT
BOJ: PURCHASING YIELDS WILL BE SET PER AUCTION BY INDICATING THE SPREAD FROM THE BENCHMARK YIELD WHICH BOJ DETERMINES SEPARATELY
BOJ: DEPENDING ON MARKET CONDITIONS MAY SET JGB PURCHASE SIZE PER AUCTION TO FIXED AMOUNT OR UNLIMITED AMOUNT
BOJ: SCRAPS RANGE FOR DURATION OF JGBS THAT BOJ BUYS
BOJ: BOJ TO CONTINUE EXPANDING MONETARY BASE UNTIL CPI EXCEEDS 2 PCT AND STAYS ABOVE TARGET IN STABLE MANNER
BOJ: ADOPTS COMMITMENT TO LET INFLATION OVERSHOOT ABOVE 2 PCT
BOJ: BOJ CAN CUT SHORT TERM POLICY RATE, TARGET LEVEL OF LONG TERM RATES IN FUTURE EASING
BOJ: BOJ TO CONTINUE EXPANDING MONETARY BASE UNTIL CPI EXCEEDS 2 PCT AND STAYS ABOVE TARGET IN STABLE MANNER
BOJ: BOJ MAY ACCELERATE EXPANSION OF MONETARY BASE AS FUTURE POLICY OPTION
BOJ: PACE OF MONETARY BASE INCREASE MAY FLUCTUATE IN SHORT RUN UNDER MARKET OP THAT AIMS TO CONTROL YIELD CURVE
BOJ: MAINTAINS COMMITMENT TO ACHIEVE 2 PCT INFLATION AT EARLIEST DATE POSSIBLE
BOJ Kuroda: