The US dollar continued its ascendancy against the Japanese yen on Wednesday, climbing towards last week’s high on the back of mounting evidence that the Bank of Japan will maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy for the foreseeable future. The USD/JPY pair rose to 145.75 by 16:55 GMT, nearing Friday’s peak of 146.03.

The latest yen weakness comes after underwhelming Japanese data released earlier this week, which showed Tokyo consumer prices rising just 0.3% in December and household spending plummeting 5.0% year-on-year. BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda also reiterated last week that the central bank is in no hurry to exit years of extraordinary stimulus.

All eyes are now on Thursday’s US CPI report, which could provide clues on the Fed’s rate cut plans later this year if inflation proves stickier than expected. Analysts say if the data exceeds forecasts, the USD/JPY could break above immediate resistance at 146 and target the 147 level.

The EUR/JPY cross also hit multi-week highs on Wednesday, climbing to 159.68 amid broad yen softness.