|

USD/JPY appears well supported near 104.40 – UOB

In light of the recent price action, strong support in USD/JPY has emerged in the 104.40 region, noted FX Strategists at UOB Group.

Key Quotes

24-hour view: “USD traded between 105.58 and 106.16, narrower than our expected 105.50/106.50 range. Momentum indicators are still ‘flat’ and USD is expected to continue to trade sideways, likely between 105.40 and 106.10”.

Next 1-3 weeks: “After USD opened sharply lower and plunged yesterday, we indicated that “further decline is not ruled”. However, we added, “it is left to be seen if USD has enough momentum to challenge 104.00”. That said, the fleeting nature of the decline came as a surprise as USD rebounded strongly from 104.44 and easily exceeded our strong resistance at 106.20 (overnight high of 106.39). The breach of the strong resistance indicates that our view was proven incorrect within a day. The price action has resulted in a mixed outlook and USD could trade sideways within a broad 105.00/107.00 range for now (the 104.44 low is acting as a solid support and is unlikely to come into the picture for a while)”.

Author

Pablo Piovano

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

More from Pablo Piovano
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD steadies near 1.1650 ahead of US Nonfarm Payrolls

EUR/USD holds ground after five days of losses, trading around 1.1650 during the Asian hours on Friday. Traders remain cautious ahead of the US Nonfarm Payrolls report, which is expected to offer further insight into labor market conditions and the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. December NFP is forecast to show job gains of 60,000, down from 64,000 in November.

GBP/USD: Further weakness could challenge 1.3400

GBP/USD remains under unabated selling pressure on Thursday, slipping to fresh three-day lows around 1.3415 in response to further improvement in the sentiment surrounding the Greenback ahead of Friday’s key NFP data.

Gold defends $4,450, looks to the crucial US NFP report

Gold struggles to capitalize on the previous day's goodish move up from the vicinity of the $4,400 mark and attracts some sellers while defending $4,450 in the Asian session on Friday. The critical US employment details will offer more cues about the Fed's rate-cut path, which, in turn, will influence the US Dollar price dynamics and provide a fresh impetus to the non-yielding bullion. 

Forecasts for Payrolls are all over the place

Yesterday’s data put the kybosh on the idea the Fed needs to cut rates fairly urgently to protect the labor market. The jobs component of the ISM services index was nicely over 50, and that rising JOLTS voluntary quits rate also points to no real heartache in labor.

2026 economic outlook: Clear skies but don’t unfasten your seatbelts yet

Most years fade into the background as soon as a new one starts. Not 2025: a year of epochal shifts, in which the macroeconomy was the dog that did not bark. What to expect in 2026? The shocks of 2025 will not be undone, but neither will they be repeated.

XRP slides as institutional and retail demand falters

Ripple is trading down for the third consecutive day on Thursday amid escalating volatility in the cyrptocurrency market. After peaking at $2.41 on Tuesday, its highest print since November 14 amid the early-year rally, XRP has quickly ran into aggressive profit-taking.