USD/JPY consolidates losses below 106.00, ignores downbeat S&P 500 Futures

USD/JPY rises to 105.72 while battling the intraday high of 105.74 during early Friday. The yen pair’s latest run-up, the first in three days, ignores other risk catalysts that are sluggish off-late. The reason could be traced from the start of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations in major Asia-Pacific nations.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s National Consumer Price Index recovered from -1.2% to -0.6% YoY in January. Further details suggest that the National CPI ex-Fresh Food, Energy grew beyond -0.4% prior to +0.1% YoY during the stated period.

The Japanese government started covid vaccinations on Thursday. Health workers will be the first to inoculated at 100 hospitals said Kyodo news.

Elsewhere, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated the need for US President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion covid relief package while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi teased the idea of the plan getting through the house during the next week.

It should be noted that the US readiness to meet Iran, on certain conditions, also favors the risks.

However, the S&P 500 futures and stocks in Asia remain sluggish as markets fear liquidity crunch following the latest jump in the US Treasury yields. The S&P 500 Futures drop for the fourth day after rising to the record high earlier in the week while the US 10-year Treasury yields stay positive near the highest since February, flashed on Monday.

Given the mixed performance of USD/JPY, traders will look forward to the strong clues on the US covid aid package signals and the US preliminary activity data for February for fresh impulse. It should be noted that the fears of covid strain can guard the upside.

Technical analysis

Unless rising back beyond the early-month top near 105.80, USD/JPY stays directed towards a 10-day SMA level of 105.25.