USD/JPY weakens below 152.00, US NFP data in focus

• USD/JPY edges lower to 151.95 in Friday’s Asian session. 
• The BoJ leaves the door open for a near-term rate hike. 
• Investors await the US NFP data, which is due later on Friday. 

The USD/JPY pair softens to around 151.95 during the Asian trading hours on Friday. The Japanese Yen (JPY) edges higher after Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda’s remarks, which were interpreted as heightening the chance of a rate hike in December.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided to keep short-term interest rates at 0.25% at its two-day meeting on Thursday. The central bank projected inflation would move around its 2% target in the coming years. "Looking at domestic data, wages and prices are moving in line with our forecasts. As for downside risks to the US and overseas economies, we're seeing clouds clear a bit," said BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda. The less dovish remarks from the BoJ officials are likely to underpin the JPY in the near term. 

The US October Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data will be the highlight on Friday. The US economy is estimated to added 113K job additions in October, while the Unemployment Rate is expected to remain steady at 4.1%. In case of the weaker-than-expected data, this could prompt Federal Reserve (Fed) dovish bets, exerting some selling pressure on the Greenback.