USD/JPY struggling near one-week lows amid risk-off mood

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The Japanese Yen continues to benefit from global flight to safety and dragged the USD/JPY pair to a one-week low level of 109.20 on Tuesday.

After yesterday's bearish gap, the pair remained under some selling pressure for the second consecutive session and continues to be weighed down by escalating geopolitical tension.

• North Korea's H-Bomb rattles Monday's markets - BBH

The latest news headlines that N. Korea could possibly launch another ICBM-grade rocket before Saturday forced investors seek refuge in traditional safe-haven assets - like the Japanese Yen.

• N. Korea spotted moving ICBM-grade rocket towards west coast

Also collaborating to the pair's heavy offered tone was persistent weakness around the US Dollar, which continues to drift lower in reaction to Friday's dismal US jobs report.

In absence of any major market moving economic releases from Japan, broader market risk sentiment would continue to act as an exclusive driver of the pair's movement on Tuesday.

Later during the NA session, the US factory orders data and speeches from various Fed officials - Brainard, Kashkari, and Kaplan would also be looked upon for some impetus.

Technical outlook

Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet writes: "the 4 hours chart shows that the price is well below a bearish 200 SMA and stuck around a horizontal 100 SMA, while technical indicators lost downward strength, but remain within negative territory, overall keeping the risk towards the downside."

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

EUR/USD hovers around 1.1850 ahead of FOMC Minutes

EUR/USD stays on the back foot around 1.1850 in the European session on Wednesday, pressured by renewed US Dollar demand. Traders now look forward to the Minutes of the Fed's January monetary policy meeting for fresh signals on future rate cuts.

GBP/USD defends 1.3550 after UK inflation data

GBP/USD is holding above 1.3550 in Wednesday's European morning, little changed following the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) data release. The UK inflation eased as expected in January, reaffirming bets for a March BoE interest rate cut, especially after Tuesday's weak employment report.

Gold retains bullish bias amid Fed rate cut bets, ahead of Fed Minutes

Gold sticks to modest intraday gains through the early European session, reversing a major part of the previous day's heavy losses of more than 2%, to the $4,843-4,842 region or a nearly two-week low. That said, the fundamental backdrop warrants caution for bulls ahead of the FOMC Minutes, which will look for more cues about the US Federal Reserve's rate-cut path.

Pi Network rally defies market pressure ahead of its first anniversary

Pi Network is trading above $0.1900 at press time on Wednesday, extending the weekly gains by nearly 8% so far. The steady recovery is supported by a short-term pause in mainnet migration, which reduces pressure on the PI token supply for Centralized Exchanges. The technical outlook focuses on the $0.1919 resistance as bullish momentum increases.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Top 3 Price Prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple face downside risk as bears regain control

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple remain under pressure on Wednesday, with the broader trend still sideways. BTC is edging below $68,000, nearing the lower consolidating boundary, while ETH and XRP also declined slightly, approaching their key supports.