|

USD/JPY Price Forecast: Struggles near 159.00; seems vulnerable below 50% Fibo.

  • USD/JPY trades with a negative bias for the second straight day, though it lacks follow-through.
  • Japan’s weak GDP print complicates BoJ’s rate-hike path, capping the JPY and limiting losses.
  • The technical setup warrants some caution before positioning for any meaningful appreciation.

The USD/JPY pair attracts some sellers at the start of a new week, though it lacks bearish conviction and shows some resilience below the 159.00 mark during the Asian session. Moreover, spot prices remain close to a two-week top, touched last Thursday, warranting some caution amid mixed fundamental cues.

The US Dollar (USD) remains depressed amid receding Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike expectations, which, in turn, is seen as a key factor acting as a headwind for the USD/JPY pair. However, Japan's soft Q2 GDP print complicates the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) policy normalization path and holds back traders from placing aggressive bullish bets on the Japanese Yen (JPY). This should lend support to the currency pair and warrants some caution before positioning for deeper losses.

From a technical perspective, the recent recovery from the 155.25-155.20 area, or the lowest since early May, stalled near the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the intervention-led slump from a four-decade peak. Moreover, the Relative Strength Index (14) sits near a neutral 48, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has slipped into negative territory, hinting that upside momentum is fading as the USD/JPY pair consolidates below these clustered resistance levels.

That said, some follow-through selling below the 38.2% Fibo. retracement support at 158.58 is needed to back the case for deeper losses to the Fibonacci floor at 157.30 and the broader structural low around 155.24, where buyers would be expected to show more conviction.

On the topside, immediate resistance is located at the 50% Fibo. retracement at 159.61, followed by the 100-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) on the 4-hour chart at 159.77. Sustained strength above these would open the way toward the 61.8% retracement at 160.64 and then the recent cycle high near 163.98.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)

USD/JPY 4-hour chart

Chart Analysis USD/JPY

Japanese Yen Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the strongest against the US Dollar.

USDEURGBPJPYCADAUDNZDCHF
USD-0.14%-0.13%-0.16%-0.09%-0.33%-0.36%-0.24%
EUR0.14%-0.01%-0.02%0.04%-0.17%-0.23%-0.10%
GBP0.13%0.00%-0.02%0.04%-0.15%-0.23%-0.09%
JPY0.16%0.02%0.02%0.07%-0.18%-0.21%-0.06%
CAD0.09%-0.04%-0.04%-0.07%-0.24%-0.28%-0.14%
AUD0.33%0.17%0.15%0.18%0.24%-0.05%0.05%
NZD0.36%0.23%0.23%0.21%0.28%0.05%0.13%
CHF0.24%0.10%0.09%0.06%0.14%-0.05%-0.13%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Japanese Yen from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent JPY (base)/USD (quote).

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

GBP/USD trades near three-month top as fading Fed hike bets undermine USD

The GBP/USD pair attracts some dip-buyers at the start of a new week, and climbs above mid-1.3500s during the Asian session, closer to over a three-month high touched on Friday. Moreover, the prevalent US Dollar selling bias favors bullish traders and suggests that the path of least resistance for spot prices remains to the upside.

EUR/USD strengthens above 1.1550 as Fed rate hike bets fade

The EUR/USD pair gathers strength to around 1.1575 during the early Asian trading hours. The US Dollar edges lower against the Euro amid weaker-than-expected US economic data and shifting central bank expectations. Traders will take more cues from the speech of the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Wednesday.

Gold remains close to June 5 high as receding Fed hike bets undermine USD

Gold builds on Friday's bounce from the $4,300 neighborhood, or a one-week low, and gains some follow-through positive traction at the start of a new week. The commodity, however, struggles to capitalize on the momentum beyond the $4,400 mark and remains below its highest level since June 5, touched on Friday, amid mixed fundamental cues.

Cardano: Whale selling, weak momentum put ADA at risk

Cardano (ADA) nears key support zone, trading at $0.177 after correcting over 10% the previous week. The price decline is supported by whale wallet offloading ADA tokens. Meanwhile, weakening momentum indicators and bearish derivatives metrics suggest a cautious tone among traders and hint at further losses if ADA slips below key support.

US Dollar Weekly Forecast: Economic cracks challenge Fed rate bets

It was a strange week for the US Dollar: while the geopolitical situation has remained largely unchanged, with the usual back-and-forth between the US, Iran, and occasional third parties, disappointing domestic data have re-emerged, reducing expectations of potential tightening by the Federal Reserve in the next few months.

Why is Crude Oil priced for a reopening the ships haven't made?
Fourteen vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Before the war, the count ran near 120 a day. In the sessions since the waterway was publicly declared open, Brent has drifted back to $87 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to $81, both a little lower again on Wednesday, with daily momentum on each unwound from the top of its range in late July to the low twenties now.