USD/JPY dips below 50-day MA on Mueller subpoena story

USD/JPY hit a one-month low of 112.39 in Asia.
USD selling coincides with Mueller subpoenas.

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

Weak bulls are quitting the market ahead of the weekend, pushing the USD/JPY below the 50-day MA for the first time since Sept. 15.

As of writing, the currency pair is trading at 112.45 levels, while the 50-day MA stands at 112.66. The moving average still carries a bullish bias (sloping upwards).

USD drops on subpoena news

As per Reuters report, the USD ran into offers after the report hit the wires that Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators have issued a subpoena to President Trump’s election campaign for documents related to Russia.

Yield curve flattening hurts USD

Following the subpoena news, the 10-year yield turned lower from 2.38 percent to 2.35 percent. The curve or the spread between the 10-year yield and the 2-year yield narrowed/flattened to 64.4 basis points; the lowest level since Oct. 2007.

BOJ trims short-duration bond purchases

The Bank of Japan trimmed purchases of the bonds maturing in 1 year to 3 years. This may have strengthened the bid tone around the Japanese Yen. Looking ahead - the USD may weaken further if the Senate approval of the tax bill looks increasingly difficult.

USD/JPY Technical Levels

A break below 112.37 (weekly 100-MA) would expose support at 112.00 (psychological level) and 111.76 (200-day MA) - 111.73 (100-day MA). On the higher side, a move above the upward sloping 50-day MA of 112.66 would shift risk in favor of 113.00 (zero levels) and 113.10 (downward sloping 10-day MA).

Author

Omkar Godbole

FXStreet Contributor

Omkar Godbole, editor and analyst, joined FXStreet after four years as a research analyst at several Indian brokerage companies.

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