USD/JPY continues to move higher, inching closer to 111.00 mark

   •  The bullish momentum gets an additional boost from upbeat Philly Fed Index.
   •  Indications of a weaker opening in the US equity markets now seemed to limit gains.

The USD/JPY pair maintained its strong bid tone through the early NA session and refreshed multi-month tops post-US data.

Against the backdrop of some renewed US Dollar buying interest, the pair got an additional boost from surprisingly stronger-than-expected Philly Fed Manufacturing index, coming in at 34.4 vs 21.0 expected and 23.2 previous.  

Meanwhile, the US Treasury bond yields have also managed to recover from a jittery slide during the European session and remained supportive of the pair's ongoing bullish momentum to the highest level since Jan. 23. 

The pair touched an intraday high level of 110.80 but might struggled to build on the strength amid indications of a weaker opening in the US equity markets, which was seen lending some support to the Japanese Yen's safe-haven appeal.

With today's US economic data out of the way, traders now look forward to the release of Japanese National Core CPI print, due early Asian session on Friday, for some fresh impetus. 

Technical outlook

Valeria Bednarik, FXStreet's own American Chief Analyst writes, “the 4 hours chart shows that the pair continues advancing above firmly bullish 100 and 200 SMA, although technical indicators lack upward momentum, holding anyway near overbought readings. February's high at 110.47 is now the immediate support, followed by the 110.00 figure, where buyers should surge to keep the upside favored. To the upside, an acceleration through the daily high should lead to a continued advance up to the 111.60 region.”