USD/JPY trades slightly lower around 147.50 ahead of key US-Japan economic events

• USD/JPY falls slightly to near 147.50 amid caution ahead of FOMC minutes and Jackson Hole Symposium.
• The Fed is expected to cut interest rates in the September meeting.
• Economists expect Japan's National CPI ex. Fresh Food to have grown moderately by 3% in July.

The USD/JPY pair ticks down to near 147.50 during the European trading session on Wednesday. The pair faces slight selling pressure as the US Dollar (USD) trades cautiously, with investors awaiting Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole (JH) Symposium, which is scheduled for Friday.

Financial market participants will pay close attention to Jerome Powell's speech to get fresh cues about the likely monetary policy action by the United States (US) central bank for the remainder of the year.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the odds of the Fed cutting interest rates in the September meeting are almost 85%. Fed dovish bets intensified after the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report for July signaled weak labor demand in the April-June period, which was anticipated previously.

In Wednesday's session, investors will focus on Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes of the July meeting, which will be published at 18:00 GMT. Ahead of FOMC minutes, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, trades close to the weekly high around 98.00.

In Japan, investors await the National Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for July, which will be published on Friday. Economists expect the National CPI excluding Fresh Food to have grown at a slower pace of 3%, compared to 3.3% in June. Signs of cooling inflationary pressures would dampen market speculation supporting interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).