USD/JPY flirts with session lows, around 103.75-70 region

USD/JPY came under some renewed selling pressure and eroded a major part of the overnight gains.
A softer tone surrounding the USD was seen as a key factor exerting downward pressure on the pair.
An uptick in the US bond yields, the underlying bullish sentiment helped limit losses for the major.

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The USD/JPY pair edged lower through the Asian session and was last seen hovering near the lower end of its daily trading range, around the 103.75-70 region.

The pair witnessed some fresh selling on Wednesday and extended the previous session's intraday pullback from levels beyond the 104.00 round-figure mark. The downtick was sponsored by a softer tone surrounding the US dollar, though seems limited amid the underlying bullish sentiment in the global financial markets.

The greenback remained depressed as investors turned cautious ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inaugural ceremony on Wednesday. That said, hopes for more aggressive US fiscal spending under Biden's presidency continued lending support to the US Treasury bond yields, which should help limit any meaningful USD downside.

The market bets for additional US stimulus measures increased further after the US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen's confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Yellen urged lawmakers to act big on COVID-19 relief package and not worry too much about debt, though did little to influence the market sentiment.

Apart from this, the optimism over the rollout of vaccines for the highly contagious coronavirus disease continued boosting investors' confidence. This, in turn, could weigh on the safe-haven Japanese yen and holds bearish traders from placing any aggressive bets around the USD/JPY pair amid absent relevant economic releases.

The market focus now shifts to the latest monetary policy update by the Bank of Japan, scheduled to be announced during the Asian session on Thursday. Some repositioning trade ahead of the key event risk might infuse some volatility around the USD/JPY pair and assist traders to grab some meaningful opportunities.

Technical levels to watch

USD/JPY

Overview
Today last price	103.77
Today Daily Change	-0.11
Today Daily Change %	-0.11
Today daily open	103.88

Trends
Daily SMA20	103.58
Daily SMA50	103.91
Daily SMA100	104.59
Daily SMA200	105.77

Levels
Previous Daily High	104.09
Previous Daily Low	103.66
Previous Weekly High	104.4
Previous Weekly Low	103.53
Previous Monthly High	104.75
Previous Monthly Low	102.88
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	103.92
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	103.82
Daily Pivot Point S1	103.66
Daily Pivot Point S2	103.44
Daily Pivot Point S3	103.23
Daily Pivot Point R1	104.09
Daily Pivot Point R2	104.3
Daily Pivot Point R3	104.52

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

EUR/USD treads water above 1.1850 amid thin trading

EUR/USD stays defensive but holds 1.1850 amid quiet markets in the European hours on Monday. The US Dollar is struggling for direction due to thin liquidity conditions as US markets are closed in observance of Presidents' Day.

GBP/USD flat lines as traders await key UK and US macro data

GBP/USD kicks off a new week on a subdued note and oscillates in a narrow range near 1.365 in Monday's European trading. The mixed fundamental backdrop warrants some caution for aggressive traders as the market focus now shifts to this week's important releases from the UK and the US.

Gold sticks to intraday losses; lacks follow-through

Gold remains depressed through the early European session on Monday, though it has managed to rebound from the daily trough and currently trades around the $5,000 psychological mark. Moreover, a combination of supporting factors warrants some caution for aggressive bearish traders, and before positioning for deeper losses.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate within key ranges as selling pressure eases

Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have been trading sideways within key ranges following the massive correction. Meanwhile, XRP recovers slightly, breaking above the key resistance zone. The top three cryptocurrencies hint at a potential short-term recovery, with momentum indicators showing fading bearish signs.

Global inflation watch: Signs of cooling services inflation

Realized inflation landed close to expectations in January, as negative base effects weighed on the annual rates. Remaining sticky inflation is largely explained by services, while tariff-driven goods inflation remains limited even in the US.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.