After a bullish start to the year, the yen has now almost erased all its gains from the first four months of 2025 and looks set to end close to where it started – stubbornly stuck in the 154.00-158.00 range. Two 25-bps rate hikes during the year have not had the desired effect of placing the yen on a sustained uptrend, even as net long positions have been positive for most of the year. Investors have been disappointed by the lack of clarity over the rate-hike path by the Bank of Japan, as the overly cautious approach to policy normalization has left the yen at the mercy of speculators. To be fair, the trade war and political instability at home were not foreseen at the beginning of the year, although neither were they completely unexpected. #forextrading# #forexmarket# #Signal#