Japan's Five-Month Trade Deficit and Surging Oil Imports Pressure Yen; USD/JPY Continues Range-Bound Oscillation

English summary

On Wednesday Asian session, USD/JPY traded around 158.10. Japan's September merchandise trade deficit was 536.6 billion yen, marking the fifth consecutive month of deficits, with crude oil imports surging 51.1% year-on-year, weakening the yen's current account support. Meanwhile, the Fed's hawkish narrative maintained high US-Japan yield differentials, causing the exchange rate to exhibit a tendency to rise more easily than fall.