• USD/JPY waffled back below 149.00 on Friday as risk appetite recovers balance.
• The US Dollar sees selling pressure across the board to wrap up the trading week.
• Coming up next week: Japanese national inflation data and the start of Jackson Hole.

USD/JPY eased lower on Friday, slipping below 149.00 early in the day and testing near the 148.00 handle. The US Dollar is getting sold off across the board as broad-market sentiment recovers on the back of an upturn in US consumer sentiment figures.

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index showed a firmer-than-expected recovery in surveyed consumers’ outlook in August, rising to 67.8 from the previous 66.4, handily beating the forecast 66.9. Investors grabbed ahold of the headline print and piled back into riskier assets while selling the Greenback, despite the UoM 5-year Consumer Inflation Expectations in August holding steady at 3%, and a slight decay in UoM Consumer Current Conditions outlook, which eased to 60.9 from 62.7, entirely reversing direction on the forecast 63.1.