The USD/JPY pair maintained its bid tone through the early European session and was last seen trading near two-day tops, around mid-105.00s. The pair built on the previous day's goodish rebound from levels below the key 105.00 psychological mark and gained positive traction for the second consecutive session on Wednesday. The uptick lacked any obvious fundamental catalyst and even seemed rather unaffected by a combination of negative factors.
During the first day of his semi-annual testimony before the Congress, Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday reiterated a very dovish policy stance and led to a modest pullback in the US Treasury bond yields. Powell said that interest rates will remain low and the Fed will keep buying bonds to support the US economic recovery. Meanwhile, the impressive pace of COVID-19 vaccinations and the progress on a massive US fiscal spending plan continued fueling hopes for a strong global economic recovery. In fact, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that a vote on US President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package will be held on Friday.