USD/JPY softens below 150.50 on Fed rate cut bets, ongoing US government shutdown 

• USD/JPY extends the decline to around 150.30 in Friday's early Asian session. 
• Fed's Powell signaled a dovish tone as US jobs remain sluggish.
• Political jitters fuel BoJ rate hike uncertainty. 

The USD/JPY pair loses ground to near 150.30 during the early Asian session on Friday. The US Dollar (USD) weakens against the Japanese Yen (JPY) as traders assess the prospects for US rate cuts and the impact on the economy of a protracted US shutdown. The speech by the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) Shinichi Uchida will be the highlight later on Friday. 

Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that labor market and inflation outlooks were little changed from last month, when the US central bank reduced its interest rate. Meanwhile, new Fed Governor Stephen Miran stated that the uncertainty surrounding US-China trade tensions had added risks to the US economic outlook, making the case for rate cuts more urgent. 

Fed Governor Christopher Waller noted that he is on board with another interest rate reduction at the Fed's policy meeting later this month, citing the mixed readings on the state of the job market. Dovish remarks from Fed officials drag the Greenback lower against the JPY. 

The US government shutdown has entered its 16th day. US Treasury official stated that the extended closure is costing around $15 billion per week to the US economy. A prolonged US federal shutdown might contribute to the USD's downside in the near term. 

On the other hand, speculations that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) could delay raising interest rates further amid domestic political uncertainty might undermine the JPY and create a tailwind for the pair. BoJ's assistant governor Seiichi Shimizu said on Thursday that the Japanese central bank must be careful when normalizing monetary policy due to uncertainty about how the economy would react to a new environment of positive interest rates.