USD/JPY Forecast: Bulls needing a reason to keep buying

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

USD/JPY Current price: 108.27

The BOJ left its monetary policy unchanged, pledged to keep supporting the economy.
US CB Consumer Confidence expected to have improved to 114.1 in April.
USD/JPY could extend gains in the upcoming session, needs to break 108.50.

The USD/JPY pair extended its advance to 108.42 this Tuesday, as the greenback got some love across the board early London, although with limited gains and already changing course. The pair trades at around 108.25, retaining modest intraday gains.

Generally speaking, the market’s mood is sour, with European indexes trading in the red, and US government bond yields ticking higher. Major pairs hold within familiar levels, as investors remain focused on first-tier events scheduled for later in this week.

During the Asian session, the Bank of Japan had a monetary policy meeting, and as widely anticipated, policymakers left the current policy unchanged. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said that they would ease monetary policy further without hesitation as needed, and warned that consumption will likely stall at low levels amid the state of emergency curbs.

The US will publish the April Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index and some housing-related data. It will also unveil CB Consumer Confidence, foreseen in April at 113.1 from 109.7 in the previous month.

USD/JPY short-term technical outlook

The near-term picture for the USD/JPY pair provides a neutral-to-bullish perspective. The pair is above a flat 20 SMA, although the 100 SMA accelerated its decline below the 200 SMA, both above the current level. Technical indicators have lost their bullish strength but hold near their daily highs well above their midlines. The pair needs to surpass the 108.50 resistance level to confirm a bullish continuation ahead.

Support levels: 108.00 107.65 107.20

Resistance levels: 108.50 108.90 109.30

View Live Chart for the USD/JPY

Premium

You have reached your limit of 3 free articles for this month.

Start your subscription and get access to all our original articles.

Subscribe to Premium Sign In

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.

EUR/USD extends its optimism past 1.1900

EUR/USD retains a firm underlying bid, surpassing the 1.1900 mark as the NA session draws to a close on Monday. The pair’s persistent uptrend comes as the US Dollar remains on the defensive, with traders staying cautious ahead of upcoming US NFP prints and CPI data.

GBP/USD hits three-day peaks, targets 1.3700

GBP/USD is clocking decent gains at the start of the week, advancing to three-day highs near 1.3670 and building on Friday’s solid performance. The better tone in the British Pound comes on the back of the intense sekk-off in the Greenback and despite re-emerging signs of a fresh government crisis in the UK.

Gold picks up pace, retargets $5,100

Gold gathers fresh steam, challenging daily highs en route to the $5,100 mark per troy ounce in the latter part of Monday’s session. The precious metal finds support from fresh signs of continued buying by the PBoC, while expectations that the Fed could lean more dovish also collaborate with the uptick.

Litecoin eyes $50 as heavy losses weigh on investors

Following a strong downtrend across the crypto market over the past week, Litecoin holders are under immense pressure. The Bitcoin fork has trimmed about $1.81 billion from its market capitalization since the beginning of the year, sending it below the top 20 cryptos by market cap.

Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week

I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.

Ripple exposed to volatility amid low retail interest, modest fund inflows

Ripple (XRP) is extending its intraday decline to around $1.40 at the time of writing on Monday amid growing pressure from the retail market and risk-off sentiment that continues to keep investors on the sidelines.