USD/JPY early Asia bid capped in Tokyo open at 113.71

USD/JPY ranged sideways between 113.25 and 113.65 in NY, unable to find direction on a dull day for the pair. In Asia, at the start of this week, the pair began with a slight opening offer from 113.54 to 113.45 the low where a drift to the upside commenced into Tokyo's open.

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Tokyo opened at 113.69 but is drifting back to the downside by a handful of pips as the hour goes by, making a Tokyo low of 113.61. Meanwhile, US stocks were weighing on the pair at the close on Friday, despite stable US yields. The US tax plan reconciliation is an ongoing and lingering problem for dollar bulls. For the week ahead, the main focus will stay with US Retail Sales and CPI on Wednesday while the market continues to price in a Fed hike in December as a dead cert. 

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USD/JPY levels

Valeria Bednarik, chief analyst at FXStreet explained that the daily chart shows that the price remains far above now flat and converging 100 and 200 DMAs at 111.40, while technical indicators have lost their strength downward and turned flat around their mid-lines.

"In the 4 hours chart, the pair is trapped between its 100 and 200 SMAs, while technical indicators have failed to recover above their mid-lines, leaning the scale towards the downside in the short-term," Valeria added.