• The USD/JPY pair sees mild gains, settling at 148.25.
• No policy changes are expected at next week’s BoJ meeting; guidance will be looked upon.
• Despite bearish undertones in the four-hour-chart outlook, the pair's position above the 20,100,200-day SMAs indicates a broader bullish control.

On Friday's session, the USD/JPY was observed to be mildly gaining, currently trading at 148.25, and will close a 2% winning week. Dominating the daily chart, bullish sentiments prevail, with the bulls firmly holding their stance but seem to be taking a breather. Next week, the bulls might get further momentum if the Bank of Japan (BoJ) does not give additional clues on its monetary policy plans.

On the USD side, it remains resilient on the back of the US yields recovering and positive University of Michigan (UoM) Consumer Sentiment data, which gave the Greenback an additional boost. Next week, markets will eye December’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) figures from December, the Federal Reserve (Fed) preferred gauge of inflation to continue placing their bets on the next decision. The dovish expectations eased somewhat this week but are still high, and according to the CME FedWatch Tool, the odds of cuts in March and May stand at around 50% and 45%, respectively.