USD/JPY recovers above 149.00 on modest US Dollar strength

• USD/JPY climbs to around 149.30 in Wednesday's Asian session, up 0.23% on the day. 
• Risk-off mood and and rising bet of more rate hikes from the BoJ could support the JPY and cap the pair's upside. 
• Investors await the speeches from Fed's Bostic and Barkin later on Wednesday. 

The USD/JPY pair rebounds to near 149.30 during the Asian trading hours on Wednesday. However, the global risk-off sentiment and rising bet of more interest-rate hikes from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) might boost the Japanese Yen (JPY) and cap the upside for the pair. 

The BOJ is anticipated to raise rates from 0.50% to 0.75% this year, which could influence investor sentiment and support the JPY. Overnight index swaps are fully pricing an increase in borrowing costs by September and pricing in a 50% odd move as soon as June, according to Bloomberg.

Japan's Services Producer Pricing Index (PPI) released on Tuesday, supports the case of the BoJ rate hike. This comes on top of Japan's robust consumer inflation numbers, reaffirming the prospect that the BoJ would raise interest rates further, which continues to support the JPY.

The US Conference Board's Consumer Confidence fell the most since August 2021, declining to 98.3 in February versus 105.3 prior. This, in turn, could weigh on the Greenback against the JPY. Traders will take more cues from the Fedspeak later this week. Any hawkish comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials could lift the US Dollar in the near term.