|

USD/JPY jumps to 2-week tops, testing 200-DMA hurdle

   •  Bulls taking cues from resurgent US bond yields, shrug off weaker USD.
   •  Fading safe-haven demand weighing on JPY and provides an additional boost.
   •  A strong follow-through buying needed to confirm additional near-term gains.

The USD/JPY pair caught some strong bids on Wednesday and was now seen building on its momentum further beyond the key 110.00 psychological mark. 

After yesterday's good two-way moves, the pair resumed with its prior appreciating move and spiked to 2-week tops in the last hour. The momentum remained unaffected by a weaker tone surrounding the US Dollar, with bulls seemed to track a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields

Also collaborating to the strong up-move, back to the very important 200-day SMA, was the prevalent positive trading sentiment across equity markets, which tends to undermine the Japanese Yen's safe-haven appeal.

It, however, remains to be seen if bulls are able to maintain their dominant position and make it through a technically significant moving average, amid escalating global trade war tensions and empty US economic docket

Technical levels to watch

A strong follow-through buying beyond the 110.15-20 region (200-DMA) is likely to accelerate the up-move towards 110.75 intermediate resistance before the pair eventually aims to reclaim the 111.00 handle.

On the flip side, 109.80-75 area now becomes an immediate support to defend, which if broken could drag the pair back towards mid-109.00s en-route the 109.20 horizontal support and the 109.00 round figure mark.
 

Author

Haresh Menghani

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

More from Haresh Menghani
Share:

Editor's Picks

AUD/USD sticks to positive bias above 0.7100; lacks bullish conviction

AUD/USD trades with a positive bias for the second straight day, holding above 0.7100 in the Asian session on Friday as softer US bond yields keep US Dollar bulls on the back foot. Furthermore, hawkish RBA Governor Bullock's comments boost rate hike bets and support the Aussie. However, the Fed's hawkish outlook, along with geopolitical uncertainties, limits USD losses and caps the pair.

USD/JPY approaches 158.00 as Japanese Yen resumes decline

USD/JPY is resuming its upside in the European session on Friday, refreshing two-week highs and nearing 158.00. The Japanese Yen extends losses, despite the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) expected rate hike to 1.25% and hawkish Governor Ueda's comments, as two surprise dissents against the rate hike weigh on it.

Gold: Upside remains capped by $4,400

Gold adds to the optimism seen in the second half of the week, trading with decent gains around the $4,370 region per troy ounce on Friday. The yellow metal’s advance finds traction in declining crude oil prices, and manages to offset the continuation of the move higher in the US Dollar and rising US Treasury yields across the curve.

Why altcoin season isn't coming back — and what stole its capital
If, after two years of being frozen in ice, Katara and Sokka woke you up to the crypto market, it would seem like 100 years have passed. With Bitcoin soaring to record highs just over a year ago, everyone expected a routine altcoin season, where investors take profits from the top crypto to chase higher returns in altcoins.
BoJ Recap: Not as hawkish as expected

The BoJ raised its short-term interest-rate target to 1.25% from 1.00% in a 7-2 vote, marking another step in the normalisation of monetary policy and widely matching what everyone has been expecting for weeks. Governor Kazuo Ueda said the policy phase had changed.

BoJ Recap: Not as hawkish as expected

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its short-term interest-rate target to 1.25% from 1.00% in a 7-2 vote, marking another step in the normalisation of monetary policy and widely matching what everyone has been expecting for weeks.