• The Japanese Yen struggles to lure buyers amid uncertainty over future BoJ rate hikes.
• Hopes for a possible Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire further undermine the safe-haven JPY.
• Intervention fears cap USD/JPY amid subdued USD demand, ahead of FOMC minutes.

The Japanese Yen (JPY) attracted some intraday sellers on Tuesday and assisted the USD/JPY pair to stall its modest pullback from the highest level since August, which was touched the previous day. Data published on Tuesday showed that  Japan's real wages fell in August after two months of gains, while household spending also declined, raising doubts about the strength of private consumption and a sustained economic recovery. This comes on top of blunt comments on monetary policy by Japan's new Prime Minister and fuels uncertainty over the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) plans for additional rate hikes. This, along with news of a possible ceasefire between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel, undermined the safe-haven JPY ahead of a snap election in Japan on October 27.

However, speculations that Japanese authorities will intervene in the FX market to support the domestic currency hold back the JPY bears from placing aggressive bets. Apart from this, subdued US Dollar (USD) demand fails to assist the USD/JPY pair to capitalize on the overnight bounce from the 147.35-147.30 region and contributes to the range-bound price action during the Asian session on Wednesday. Furthermore, investors prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of the release of the September FOMC meeting minutes later today. This, along with the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI), will play a key role in influencing the near-term USD price dynamics and help in determining the next leg of a directional move for the currency pair.