USD/JPY mildly weaker below mid-113.00s

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• Retreats a bit from Monday’s near 4-week tops.
• Investors refrain to place bets ahead of FOMC meeting.
• US PPI eyed for some short-term trading impetus.

The USD/JPY pair lacked any firm directional bias and traded with a mildly softer tone around mid-113.00s, albeit remained within striking distance of near 4-week tops touched in the previous session.

A combination of factors, including a subdued US Dollar price moves and the prevalent cautious sentiment around equity markets, which tends to benefit the Japanese Yen's safe-haven appeal, kept a lid on the pair's near-term upward trajectory.

Moreover, investors also seemed reluctant to place fresh bets and preferred to wait on the sidelines ahead of this week's FOMC meeting for a fresh catalyst.

Given that a rate hike this week has already been priced in, investors would be looking for clues over the Fed's policy outlook for 2018, which would eventually help determine the pair's next leg of directional move.

In the meantime, today's US PPI print would be looked upon for some short-term trading impetus ahead of Wednesday's key event risk and the very important release of consumer inflation figures.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near the 113.25-20 region, which if broken could drag the pair back below the 113.00 handle towards its next support near 112.70 horizontal zone.

On the upside, 113.65-70 area now seems to have emerged as an immediate hurdle, above which the pair is likely to dart towards reclaiming the 114.00 handle en-route its next major supply zone near the 114.30-40 region.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

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