EUR/JPY gathers strength below 163.00, eyes on Eurozone PMI data

• EUR/JPY attracts some buyers near 162.80 in Thursday’s early European session.
• Japanese authorities came with a verbal intervention, which might lift the JPY. 
• ECB’s Wunsch said the ECB may not cut the interest rate as quickly as some expect.

The EUR/JPY cross gains momentum for the third consecutive week during the early European trading hours on Thursday. However, the potential intervention in the market by the Japanese authorities might boost the Japanese Yen (JPY) and cap the upside of the EUR/JPY cross. At press time, EUR/JPY is trading at 162.80, gaining 0.19% on the day. 

On Thursday, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda made a verbal intervention, saying that they will monitor the foreign exchange moves with a high sense of urgency. This, in turn, might lift the JPY for the time being. Apart from this, the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East might support safe-haven assets like the Japanese Yen. 

On the Euro front, European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch said that the ECB may not cut the interest rate as quickly as some expect. Investors increased their bet on an ECB rate cut as soon as April, but many policymakers signaled that the June meeting looks more likely as additional data will be available then. 

Traders will monitor the preliminary HCOB PMI from Germany and the Eurozone for February. Also, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from Italy and the Eurozone will be released. On Friday, the German Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Q4 will be published. Market players will take cues from the data and find trading opportunities around the EUR/JPY cross.