USD/JPY analysis: modest recovery doesn't erase the bearish risk

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

USD/JPY Current price: 112.53

Japanese Nikkei December manufacturing PMI expected unchanged at 54.2.
USD/JPY up after FOMC Minutes helped US T-yields recover ground.

The USD/JPY pair advanced up to 112.57 this Thursday, as stronger-than-expected US data lifted the greenback against its Japanese rival, later fueled by the release of FOMC Minutes. Not that the document surprised investors, but after the release, US Treasury yields recovered the ground lost earlier on the day, helping the pair to extend its daily gains. Japan will see the release of the Nikkei manufacturing PMI for December during the upcoming Asian session, expected unchanged at 54.2, but ahead of US employment data, seems likely that the pair will remain confined to a tight intraday range. In the meantime, the risk is still skewed toward the downside as the pair can't move far above the critical 112.00 mark, while in the 4 hours chart, the price remains below its 100 and 200 SMAs, pressuring this last from below. In the same chart, the RSI indicator advances within negative territory, while the Momentum holds flat around its 100 level, indicating that buying interest remains limited around the pair.

Support levels: 112.40 112.00 111.60

Resistance levels: 112.75 113.10 113.50

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Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

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