BoJ to water down price target

Reuters reported that Japan's government is set to revise a decade-old joint statement with the Bank of Japan (BOJ) that commits the central bank to achieve its 2% inflation "at the earliest date possible," Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday, citing government sources.

With the revision, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will aim at making the BOJ's 2% inflation target a more flexible goal with room for allowance, Kyodo reported.

The new statement could remove the phrase "at the earliest date possible," or change the language to clarify that the 2% inflation target is a medium- to long-term goal rather than one that needs to be achieved quickly, Kyodo said.

USD/JPY update

The speculation is that the BOJ will tweak its ultra-loose monetary policy under a new central bank governor next year. This is set to give the yen a lift that is technically headed higher vs the greenback already: