USD/JPY sticks to intraday gains, remains below mid-113.00s ahead of NFP

USD/JPY added to the previous day’s gains and edged higher for the second straight day.
Improving global risk sentiment undermined the safe-haven JPY and remained supportive.
Retreating US bond yields capped gains for the USD and the pair ahead of the NFP report.

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The USD/JPY pair maintained its bid tone heading into the North American session and was last seen trading just a few pips below the daily high, around the 113.35-40 region.

The pair gained some positive traction for the second successive day on Friday and built on the overnight bounce from the vicinity of mid-112.00s, or the lowest level since October 11. A generally positive tone around the equity markets undermined the safe-haven Japanese yen and was seen as a key factor that acted as a tailwind for the USD/JPY pair.

The global risk sentiment stabilized a bit on the back of easing fears about the potential economic fallout from the recently discovered, possibly vaccine-resistant Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Adding to this, the passage of a bill to fund the US government through mid-February further contributed to the upbeat market mood on Friday.

On the other hand, the US dollar drew some support from firming expectations that the Fed will adopt a more aggressive policy response to contain stubbornly high inflation. However, retreating US Treasury bond yields held back the USD bulls from placing aggressive bets and kept a lid on any further gains for the USD/JPY pair, at least for the time being.

Investors also seemed reluctant and preferred to wait for a fresh catalyst from Friday's release of the closely-watched US monthly employment details. The popularly known NFP report will play a key role in influencing the USD price dynamics. Apart from this, the US ISM Services PMI will also be looked upon for some meaningful trading opportunities around the USD/JPY pair.

Technical levels to watch

USD/JPY

Overview
Today last price	113.34
Today Daily Change	0.16
Today Daily Change %	0.14
Today daily open	113.18

Trends
Daily SMA20	113.96
Daily SMA50	113.36
Daily SMA100	111.61
Daily SMA200	110.49

Levels
Previous Daily High	113.33
Previous Daily Low	112.64
Previous Weekly High	115.52
Previous Weekly Low	113.05
Previous Monthly High	115.52
Previous Monthly Low	112.53
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	113.06
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	112.9
Daily Pivot Point S1	112.77
Daily Pivot Point S2	112.36
Daily Pivot Point S3	112.08
Daily Pivot Point R1	113.46
Daily Pivot Point R2	113.74
Daily Pivot Point R3	114.15

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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