USD/JPY extends the rally to near 155.50, FOMC Minutes in focus

• USD/JPY strengthens to around 155.50 in Wednesday’s early Asian session. 
• BoJ’s Ueda signaled the central bank remains on a rate hike path after the PM meeting. 
• US Initial Jobless Claims came in at 232,000 in the week of October 18.

The USD/JPY pair extends its upside to a fresh nine-and-a-half-month high near 155.50 during the early Asian session on Wednesday. The uptick of the pair is bolstered by worries about Japan’s fiscal stance and awaited US data for signals on the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) next move. The FOMC Minutes will be in the spotlight later on Wednesday. 

While Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda hinted at the chance of raising interest rates as soon as next month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has voiced displeasure over the idea and urged the Japanese central bank to cooperate with government efforts to reflate the economy. 

Takaichi urged the BoJ to maintain low interest rates, emphasizing that monetary policy should support both robust economic growth and stable price increases. Market expectations that the BoJ may slow down its rate hikes due to the new administration could weigh on the Japanese Yen (JPY) and act as a tailwind for the pair in the near term. 

Traders dialed back their bets for an additional interest rate cut by the Fed in December as comments by Fed officials went against the need for further reductions. Hawkish remarks from policymakers could underpin the Greenback against the JPY. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Monday that the Fed should proceed "slowly" with further rate reductions.  

Data released by the US Department of Labor's (DOL) on Tuesday showed that there were 232,000 Initial Jobless Claims in the week ended October 18. Continuing Claims came in at 1.957 million, up slightly from 1.926 million in the prior week. For initial claims, weekly data for the previous three weeks weren’t made available. Meanwhile, a report from ADP Research showed that employers cut 2,500 jobs a week on average during the four weeks ending November 1.