• EUR/JPY loses momentum around 161.95 in Friday’s Asian session. 
• BoJ’s Ueda reaffirmed his resolve to hike, if inflation stayed on course to sustainably hit the 2% target.
• ECB’s Kazaks said he’s ready to discuss another interest rate cut at the September meeting. 

The EUR/JPY cross weakens to near 161.95, snapping the two-day winning streak on Friday during the Asian trading hours. The Japanese Yen (JPY) strengthens amid hawkish remarks from the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda. 

BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda told the Japanese parliament on Friday that the Japanese central bank raised the interest rate in July as the economy and inflation moved in line with price target protections. Ueda further stated that he expects to adjust policy if the economy moves as planned while saying that the BoJ's policy path to a neutral interest rate remains highly uncertain. Hawkish remarks from Japanese authorities are likely to support the JPY in the near term. 

Additionally, Japan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in July remained above the BoJ’s 2% target, heightening expectations for the Japanese central bank to raise rates again. The Core CPI inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food, rose to 2.7% YoY in July from 2.6% in June, in line with the market expectation. The headline National CPI climbed 2.8% YoY in July, compared to 2.8% in the previous reading, the Japan Statistics Bureau reported on Friday.