The USD/JPY pair is trading slightly lower on Tuesday, hovering around 155.80 at the time of writing, down 0.15% on the day. The pair’s decline reflects modest strength in the Japanese Yen (JPY) following the release of the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) opinion summary from its December policy meeting.
The document shows that many policymakers believe that monetary policy should remain on a tightening path in 2026. “There is still a significant distance to reach levels considered neutral,” one member noted, adding that the central bank should continue to raise interest rates taking into account time frames of a few months. Other members also argued that additional interest rate hikes are necessary to support the Japanese currency.
At that meeting, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75%, in line with market expectations, raising borrowing costs to their highest level in 30 years. Last week, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda already stressed the need to continue monetary policy normalization, citing tighter labor market conditions and changes in wage and price setting behavior by companies, suggesting that inflationary pressures have returned sustainably towards the 2% target.
According to many officials, the continued weakness of the Japanese yen and rising long-term yields are partly due to interest rates remaining very low relative to inflation, strengthening the case for further monetary adjustments. In addition, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama recently said that Japan has full flexibility to respond to excessive moves in the Japanese yen, leaving the door open for verbal intervention that may help support the currency.
On the US side, the US Dollar (USD) is trading without a clear trend. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the US currency against six major currencies, is hovering around the 98.00 level as investors await the release of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes from its December meeting, scheduled for later in the day. At that meeting, the Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50%-3.75% and indicated that only one additional rate cut could be made in 2026, after three cuts implemented in 2025.
Looking ahead, market attention is also turning to the future of US monetary policy leadership. US President Donald Trump said he will announce the successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in January, an event that could impact expectations surrounding the US dollar.
With trading volumes declining ahead of the year-end holiday, expectations of additional interest rate hikes from the Bank of Japan in 2026 continue to provide fundamental support for the Japanese yen, creating a modest bearish bias for USD/JPY in the near term.
US dollar price today
The table below shows the percentage change in the US Dollar (USD) against the major currencies listed today. The US dollar was the strongest against the euro.
| US dollars | euro | GBP | JPY | Canadian | Australian dollar | New Zealand dollar | Swiss franc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US dollars | -0.03% | -0.13% | -0.17% | -0.09% | -0.29% | -0.11% | -0.20% | |
| euro | 0.03% | -0.10% | -0.17% | -0.08% | -0.27% | -0.07% | -0.17% | |
| GBP | 0.13% | 0.10% | -0.04% | 0.04% | -0.17% | 0.02% | -0.09% | |
| JPY | 0.17% | 0.17% | 0.04% | 0.10% | -0.11% | 0.06% | 0.00% | |
| Canadian | 0.09% | 0.08% | -0.04% | -0.10% | -0.19% | 0.01% | -0.12% | |
| Australian dollar | 0.29% | 0.27% | 0.17% | 0.11% | 0.19% | 0.19% | 0.08% | |
| New Zealand dollar | 0.11% | 0.07% | -0.02% | -0.06% | -0.01% | -0.19% | -0.11% | |
| Swiss franc | 0.20% | 0.17% | 0.09% | -0.01% | 0.12% | -0.08% | 0.11% |
The heat map shows the percentage changes in major currencies versus each other. The base currency is chosen from the left column, while the counter currency is chosen from the top row. For example, if you select USD from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
