USD/JPY LOSES MOMENTUM NEAR FRESH FIVE-WEEK LOWS BELOW 148.00, US NFP DATA LOOMS

• USD/JPY loses traction near 147.70 amid the softer USD and BoJ’s hawkish comments. 
• BOJ policymakers said the economy was moving towards its 2% target, raising the chance that BoJ will end its negative rate. 
• The US Nonfarm-Payrolls will be a closely watched event for traders. 

The USD/JPY pair drops to fresh five-week lows below the 148.00 mark during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. A weaker US Dollar (USD) and growing speculation that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will exit from an ultra-loose monetary policy stance lift the Japanese Yen (JPY) and exert some selling pressure on the USD/JPY. At press time, the pair is trading at 147.70, down 0.26% on the day. 

The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) governor and board members said on Thursday the economy was moving towards the central bank's 2% inflation target, raising the possibility that the BOJ will end its negative interest rates for the first time since 2007. The hawkish comments from BoJ policymakers lift the JPY to a one-month high against the USD

On the other hand, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank is "not far" from gaining enough confidence that inflation will reach its 2% target to begin lowering interest rates. The Fed Chair didn’t provide a precise timetable for rate cuts, as Fed officials want to see more evidence before considering cutting rates. 

Market participants will take more cues from the US February labor market report on Friday. The US Nonfarm-Payrolls is projected to see 200,000 jobs added to the US economy. The unemployment rate is estimated to hold steady at 3.7%, while Average Hourly Earnings are forecast to ease to 0.2% MoM versus 0.6% MoM in January.