Northern star, a sign of USD/JPY getting tired?

The US Dollar rose to a peak of 114.69 against the Yen for the first time since November 2017, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield touching a fresh 5-month high of 1.68%. Higher long-term US yields increase the allure of the asset to Japanese investors. However, the two-year Treasury yield was up around 0.41% after retreating sharply overnight from Monday’s 19-month high of 0.45%.

The USD index, which measures the greenback against major currencies, including the Yen, was little changed at 93.73 after forming a double bottom at a low of 93.45 this month, gaining 0.17% below the minor resistance of 93.85. The outlook for the US economy is mixed after data showed that US housing construction unexpectedly fell in September and permits fell to a one-year low amid acute shortages of raw materials and labor, supporting expectations that economic growth slowed sharply in the third quarter. However, existing-home sales in September rose +7.0% m/m to an 8-month high of 6.29 million, stronger than expectations of 6.10 million. On the upside, US weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell -6,000 to a 19-month low of 290,000, suggesting a stronger-than-expected labor market for an increase to 297,000.

The Yen strengthened on Thursday amid increasing safe-haven demand, after the JPN225 fell -1.67%. The Yen also found support on Thursday amid a report from Kyodo News that said Tokyo would lift its pandemic restrictions starting this Monday.

USD/JPY, daily

USDJPY is starting to look exhausted at the annual resistance area, below the 115.00 price level with the appearance of a daily doji candle pattern above 114.00. The RSI validates the rally momentum that is starting to fade at overbought levels, while the MACD takes more than one day of trading to validate a bearish signal. Overall, the uptrend has not shown any change, but the signs are already starting to be felt with the presence of 3 northern star candles. The pair is trading down 0.25% slightly below 114.00 at press time. A move to the downside will target 113.18 and a break of this level, the correction will target 112.05. On the upside, the price still has the potential to test the minor resistance at 114.20; 114.40 and recent peaks. Overall prices still look neutral towards the weekend.

AUD/USD weakens to multi-month lows; challenges 0.6800

AUD/USD has come under heightened downside pressure, briefly slipping back below the 0.6800 yardstick on Thursday. Indeed, the pair has revisited levels last seen in late January in response to the continuation of the bullish momentum favouring the Greenback, which remained propped up by rising bets over extra Fed tightening.

USD/JPY eases from near 160.00 amid looming intervention risks, BoJ hike bets

USD/JPY retreats slightly from an over two-month high as the recent surge back to the 160.00 psychological mark prompted verbal warnings from Japanese authorities and sparked fears of direct FX intervention. Moreover, data showed that Japan’s wholesale inflation picked up again in October, strengthening the case for a BoJ hike in December and lifting the Japanese Yen. However, a bullish US Dollar, bolstered by odds of a jumbo Fed rate hike in December, could cap the pair's downside.

Gold shifts the focus to $3,800 amid stronger US Dollar

Gold comes under heightened downside pressure, retreating for the third consecutive day and approaching the $3,800 region per troy ounce on Thursday. Increasing speculation of a 50-bps rate hike by the Fed in December continues to weigh on the precious metal amid further gains in US Treasury yields.

Dogecoin Price Forecast: DOGE tests three-year low as selling pressure deepens

Dogecoin (DOGE) trades lower around $0.0650 on Thursday, as bears tighten their grip. The path of least resistance remains downward not only for the largest meme coin by market capitalization but also for crypto majors Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP). DOGE is down about 2.6% on the day, aligning with levels last seen in October 2023.

Nvidia shares crash as Jensen Huang resigns as CEO

Nvidia (NVDA) shares collapsed in Thursday's premarket after longtime CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as CEO in the face of board scrutiny over several affairs. Nvidia shares have shed 10% at the time of writing as the leading AI chipmaker chose chief financial officer (CFO) Colette Kress as interim CEO.

What the US CPI headline doesn’t tell you about inflation

Brent crude has fallen about a third since mid-October on hopes the Iran war is ending, but diesel, freight and fertiliser costs haven't followed. Those costs reach US consumer prices in stages through 2027 and could keep inflation high after gasoline gets cheaper.