USD/JPY rises above 144.00 after mixed US flash PMI

• USD/JPY gains above 144.00 after the release of the mixed preliminary US S&P Global PMI data for September.
• The US Services PMI came in better-than-forecasted at 55.4.
• Investors await BoJ Ueda’s speech on Tuesday.

The USD/JPY pair moves higher above 144.00 in Monday’s North American session after the release of the mixed preliminary United States (US) S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for September.

The report showed that the Composite PMI expanded at a slower pace to 54.4 from 54.6 in August. A sharp contraction in activities in the manufacturing sector was offset by better-than-projected service sector activity. The Manufacturing PMI declined unexpectedly to 47.0, which was expected to have improved to 48.5 from the prior release of 47.9. The Services PMI, a measure of activities in the services sector that accounts for two-thirds of the US economy, lands higher at 55.4 from the estimates of 55.2 but remained lower than the prior reading of 55.7.

Mixed flash US PMI has prompted some recovery in the US Dollar (USD) as the US Dollar Index (DXY) gathers strength to decisively break above 101.00. Going forward, the US Dollar will be guided by market expectations of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate outlook.

The asset struggles for a direction as investors await the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda’s speech on Tuesday, in which he is expected to provide fresh guidance on the interest rate outlook.

Last week, the comments from Kazuo Ueda in the press conference after the monetary policy decision indicated that the BoJ is in no rush to hike interest rates further. BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said, "Our decision on monetary policy will depend on economic, price, and financial developments at the time. Japan's real interest rates remain extremely low. If our economic and price forecasts are achieved, we will raise interest rates and adjust the degree of monetary support accordingly," at the press conference.