USD/JPY trades in upper half of daily range near 109.50
|- US Dollar Index sticks to gains near 97.40.
- Fed's Clarida doesn't think a recession is imminent.
- Wall Street opens higher on easing geopolitical tensions.
The USD/JPY pair continues to trade in the upper half of its daily range near 109.50 area on Thursday supported by broad-based USD strength and the upbeat market mood. As of writing, the pair was up 0.33% on the day at 109.48.
Major European equity indexes remain on track to register solid daily gains on the back of the relief-rally that was triggered with easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Furthermore, Wall Street's main indexes started the day sharply higher to reflect the positive market sentiment. At the moment, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are up 0.5% on the day.
US Dollar Index edges higher ahead of NFP
On the other hand, the US Dollar Index is clinging to its daily gains to help the pair stay in the positive territory. While speaking at an event in New York on Thursday, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said that there was no reason to expect the economic expansion wouldn't continue at its current rate and noted that he didn't think a recession was imminent.
In the meantime, the only data from the US revealed that weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell to 214,000 from 223,000 to provide additional support to the USD. As of writing, the US Dollar Index is up 0.13% on the day at 97.44.
There won't be any other macroeconomic data releases from the US in the remainder of the day. In the Asian session, the Coincident Index and the Leading Economic Index from Japan will be looked upon for fresh impetus ahead of the Nonfarm Payrolls report from the United States.
Technical levels to watch for
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