The Japanese Yen (JPY) held firm against its US counterpart, lifting the USD/JPY pair near the 153.00 level, or a fresh monthly peak during the Asian session on Friday.

Recent media reports suggested that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will not raise interest rates at its upcoming policy meeting next week, which in turn, further undermined the JPY.

Moreover, expectations for a less dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) continued to support higher US Treasury bond yields and further weighed on the lower-yielding JPY.

Meanwhile, the BOJ's quarterly Tankan survey released today showed that business confidence at Japan's major manufacturers improved slightly in the fourth quarter of 2024. This is in line with the central bank's plan to gradually raise interest rates and may restrain JPY bears from placing aggressive bets.

Furthermore, persistent geopolitical risks and concerns over US President-elect Donald Trump's tariff plans should help limit losses for the safe-haven JPY ahead of next week's key central bank event risks – the FOM and BOJ policy meetings.

Source: FXStreet