USD/JPY extends near-term consolidative price-action around 200-DMA

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The USD/JPY pair caught some fresh bids during Asian session on Wednesday and extended its consolidative price action around the very important 200-day SMA.

Currently trading around 108.60-55 band, a modest up-tick in the US treasury bond yields helped the key US Dollar Index to bounce off three week lows and has been the key driver of the pair's minor up-move on Wednesday.

Moreover, return of stability in the global financial markets further drove flows away from traditional safe-haven assets, including the Japanese Yen, and supported a mildly positive sentiment surrounding the major.

Further upside, however, remained capped at 200-day SMA hurdle, with the pair hanging close to 5-month lows touched at the beginning of this week and continues to be weighed down by the ongoing geopolitical concerns, and lackluster incoming US economic reports.

• US: Hard data continues to lag elevated soft data - ANZ

With an empty US economic docket, broader market risk sentiment would continue to act as a key determinant of the pair's movement on Wednesday.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near 108.30 level, below which the pair is likely to break below multi-month lows support near 108.15-10 region and head towards testing the 108.00 handle ahead of its next support near 107.70 level.

On the upside, sustained momentum above 108.75 region (200-day SMA) could get extended beyond the 109.00 handle towards 109.20-25 resistance en-route 109.45-50 hurdle.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

AUD/USD turns south toward 0.6900 as USD firms up

AUD/USD sees fresh selling and drops toward 0.6900 in late Asian trading on Monday, as renewed US Dollar strength weighs on the pair amid lingering Middle East and Russia-Ukraine geopolitical tensions. Focus remains on Oil prices, Treasury bond yields, and RBA expectations for fresh trading impetus in the major.

USD/JPY retakes 158.00 amid hawkish BoJ bets, firmer USD

USD/JPY erases losses and retakes 158.00 in the Asian session on Monday, trading within a one-week-old range. Geopolitical uncertainty continues to underpin the US Dollar, despite fading Fed rate hike hopes, supporting the pair's rebound. However, further upside could be capped by hawkish BoJ expectations and looming intervention risks that could support the Japanese Yen.

Gold treads water around $4,150

Gold now regains some composure and approaches the $4,150 mark per troy ounce late on Monday. The precious metal’s vacillating price action comes in response to the persistent advance in the US Dollar in combination with the resurgence of the upside momentum in US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin rally slows while Ethereum and XRP extend recovery amid slowing ETF inflows

Bitcoin is narrowly consolidating while trading above $86,000 at the time of writing on Monday. Altcoins, on the other hand, show a positive outlook, with Ethereum edging higher above $2,700 while Ripple steadies above $1.52.

Eurozone inflation just hit 3.8%, its highest in three years. This chart shows why the ECB can’t simply hike its way out

The ECB would normally have a relatively straightforward answer to inflation running almost twice its target: raise interest rates. But these are not normal circumstances. This time, the bond market is already doing part of the tightening for it, leaving the ECB facing an increasingly difficult dilemma.