USD/JPY Price Analysis: Drops back towards 140.80 support confluence amid firmer sentiment in Asia

USD/JPY takes offers to extend the previous day’s retreat from two-week high.
Two-month-old horizontal support zone, key EMA confluence challenge bears.
RSI’s retreat from overbought area, looming bear cross on MACD prod Yen pair buyers.
Risk-on mood weighs on US Dollar ahead of Fed, BoJ announcements

Anil Panchal FXStreet

USD/JPY remains on the back foot for the second consecutive day, down 0.15% intraday near 141.25 by the press time, as the risk-on mood in Asia weighs on the US Dollar of late. Even so, the key technical supports and cautious mood ahead of this week’s monetary policy meetings of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) prod the Yen pair sellers.

Also read: S&P500 Futures struggle to justify optimism in China, Hong Kong amid sluggish yields, pre-Fed anxiety

That said, the RSI (14) line’s retreat from the overbought territory joins the impending bear cross on the MACD indicator to also weigh on the USD/JPY price.

However, a two-month-old horizontal support area surrounding the 141.00 round figure restricts the immediate downside of the Yen pair.

Even if the quote drops back below the 141.00 support, a convergence of the 100 and 200 Exponential Moving Average (EMA), around 140.80 at the latest, appears a tough nut to crack for the USD/JPY bears to conquer.

It’s worth mentioning that a fortnight-long rising support line near 140.55 acts as the last defense of the USD/JPY bulls.

On the flip side, the latest peak of 141.95 and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the pair’s June 30 to July 14 downside, near 142.05, can challenge the USD/JPY pair’s recovery moves.

Following that, the July 10 swing high of around 143.00 can test the Yen pair buyers before directing them to the monthly top of near 145.00.

USD/JPY: Four-hour chart

Trend: Limited downside expected

Additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	141.23
Today Daily Change	-0.25
Today Daily Change %	-0.18%
Today daily open	141.48

Trends
Daily SMA20	141.76
Daily SMA50	140.74
Daily SMA100	137.25
Daily SMA200	136.88

Levels
Previous Daily High	141.82
Previous Daily Low	140.74
Previous Weekly High	141.96
Previous Weekly Low	137.68
Previous Monthly High	145.07
Previous Monthly Low	138.43
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	141.15
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	141.41
Daily Pivot Point S1	140.88
Daily Pivot Point S2	140.27
Daily Pivot Point S3	139.8
Daily Pivot Point R1	141.95
Daily Pivot Point R2	142.42
Daily Pivot Point R3	143.02

Author

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD drops to daily lows near 1.1630

EUR/USD now loses some traction and slips back to the area of daily lows around 1.1630 on the back of a mild bounce in the US Dollar. Fresh US data, including the September PCE inflation numbers and the latest read on December consumer sentiment, didn’t really move the needle, so the pair is still on course to finish the week with a respectable gain.

GBP/USD trims gains, recedes toward 1.3320

GBP/USD is struggling to keep its daily advance, coming under fresh pressure and retreating to the 1.3320 zone following a mild bullish attempt in the Greenback. Even though US consumer sentiment surprised to the upside, the US Dollar isn’t getting much love, as traders are far more interested in what the Fed will say next week.

Gold makes a U-turn, back to $4,200

Gold is now losing the grip and receding to the key $4,200 region per troy ounce following some signs of life in the Greenback and a marked bounce in US Treasury yields across the board. The positive outlook for the precious metal, however, remains underpinned by steady bets for extra easing by the Fed.