USD/JPY tentatively back above 150 as US yields edge higher

Yesterday, as covered here at the time, the news that US sales fell by more than expected in January immediately sent the dollar tumbling versus the Yen. The USD/JPY fell to 149.57 in very short order. However, as noted here too, the other US releases out at the same time were actually better than forecast in a number of departments. I did say that I thought the markets might look through the sales data because of several factors. The December lag effect and poor weather were at the top of that list, but there were other reasons too. So, eventually the USD/JPY steadied and later closed at 149.93. Today it has risen a bit further, reaching 150.37 so far. The price action is tentative though and perhaps the markets do not want to spook the BOJ? The fact that Japan has joined the UK by falling into a recession is one factor to support the dollar though and US yields will be another. So, because those are a little higher right now, that explains the modest rebound in the USD/JPY this morning. The USD/JPY is currently trading at 150.27