• Little change in USD/JPY with pair holding on 159, USD still broadly bid

• That said, little to move markets now, market summer holiday-thinned

• Last day of Japan O-Bon holidays for most but slow start eyed Monday

• Continuing Japanese importer demand at each Tokyo fix, Gotobi Saturday

• Demand from foreign investors hedging Japanese stock buys too?

• USD/JPY 159.40-53 EBS, ensconced in 158.92-161.41 daily Ichimoku cloud

• Heavy from area of flat, 159.59 daily kijun, 100-DMA 160.00 above

• Holding above 159.36 hourly tenkan, 159.30 kijun, 159.07-17 cloud

• Option expiries in area today 159.00-45 $880 mln, 159.50-75 $1.4 bln

• JGB-US Treasury rate differentials narrower still, 2s to 253, 10s 180 bps

• Seemingly no end to Middle East impasse, to remain USD supportive

• That said, further USD gains could be met by fresh FX intervention

• Related comments , , also

• US markets , , ,

• On BOJ , Fed-speak , US data

• On Middle East , , for more click on [FXBUZ]

USD/JPY:

(Haruya Ida is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)