EUR/JPY holding the 132 handle ahead of Bank of Japan

• Bank of Japan’s Kuroda speech is slated at 0:30 GMT on Thursday.
• The ECB’s Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts are scheduled for 11:30 GMT on Thursday.

The EUR/JPY is trading at around 132.27 down 0.14% on Wednesday as it is consolidating from its up move to 132.64. 

Although the geopolitical picture around the globe is deteriorating the EUR/JPY is holding the uptrend better than the USD/JPY which is trading towards weekly lows.The yen is a safe-haven in times of geopolitical uncertainties. Trump warned Moscow to “get ready” as he plans to launch a missile strike on Syria in response to the chemical attack in Damascus last Sunday. Adding fuel to the fire are the ballistic missiles sent by Yemen’s Houthis targetting Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh. The missiles were intercepted by Saudi Arabia’s air defense. 

Yesterday, Nowotny’s hawkish comments combined with China’s President pushing for free trade sent the EUR/JPY higher to 132.64, after which some profit taking is seeing the pair consolidating around the 132.00 handle.  

Looking ahead, Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a press conference about monetary policies in Tokyo at 00:30 GMT on Thursday. Investors will be listening closely to any comments regarding the policy normalization. 

“We will make the best efforts to meet the price-stability target, and eventually we will also have to consider the process of policy normalization.” according to Kuroda.

“An exit strategy is the highest priority. Within five years, many in financial markets think the BoJ will start on an exit strategy” says Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Daiichi Life Research Institute and a former BOJ´s official. 

Thursday will be a busy day for the Eurozone on the macroeconomic front. The ECB’s Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts is scheduled for 11:30 GMT while Industrial Production for February will be released earlier at 9:00 GMT. Meanwhile, Benoit Coeuré, member of the ECB's Executive Board will be delivering a speech at 12:15.

EUR/JPY 4-hour charts

The bulls are in control. Immediate support is seen at 132 and then at 131.50 last swing low. Resistance is the high of Wednesday at 132.64, followed by the 133 figure and swing high.