AUD/JPY sees a downside to near 93.00 ahead of BOJ minutes

• AUD/JPY is likely to continue its five-day losing spree after slipping below 93.15.

• BOJ’s minutes will dictate the rationale behind sounding dovish on interest rates.

• As per the consensus, Caixin Manufacturing PMI will improve to 49.9 vs. 49.5 reported earlier.

The AUD/JPY pair has tested the downside break of the consolidation formed in a narrow range of 93.30-94.00 in the early Tokyo session. The breakdown test seems successful and the asset has started declining towards the critical support of 93.00. For the past two weeks, the asset is declining like a house of cards. The cross is expected to continue its five-day losing streak after dropping below the immediate support of 93.15.

The Japanese yen has displayed sheer strength for the past few weeks as investors were already expecting the Bank of Japan (BOJ)’s intervention in the currency markets to support the depreciating yen. Japanese officials believe that the current yen price is not justifying the fundamentals and should be supported by one-sided down moves.

Going forward, the release of the BOJ’s minutes on Wednesday will be in focus. The minutes will provide the rationale behind adopting a ‘dovish’ stance on interest rates. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is focusing on injecting liquidity into the economy to restorative the growth rates recorded in the pre-pandemic era. Also, the inflation rate is needed to maintain around the desired rate to step up growth projections.

This week, the Japanese economic calendar is full of economic events. Statistics Bureau of Japan will report the Unemployment Rate, which is seen lower at 2.5% vs. The prior release of 2.6%. While the Job/Applicants Ratio will improve to 1.30 from the former figure of 1.29.

On the Australian front, Caixin Manufacturing PMI data will be keenly watched. As per the consensus, the economic data will improve to 49.9 from the prior reading of 49.5. A higher-than-expected PMI data will support the aussie bulls. It is worth noting that Australia is a leading trading partner of China and Chinese PMI data have a significant impact on the aussie bulls.