USD/JPY weakens farther below 109.00 handle, over 1-week lows

The USD/JPY pair continued losing ground through the mid-European session and weakened farther below the 109.00 handle, dropping to over one-week lows in the last hour.

The pair failed to capitalize on its early uptick to the 109.20 region, rather met with some fresh supply and turned lower for the second consecutive session on Tuesday in reaction to the US President Donald Trump's not so optimistic trade-related comments.

Weighed down by negative trade headlines

Ahead of a summit of leaders from the NATO alliance, Trump told reporters in London that he had no deadline when it comes to concluding the long-running US-China trade talks and raised prospects of delaying a deal until after the 2020 presidential election.

This comes on the back of the development, wherein Trump re-imposed tariffs against steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina, which provided a goodish lift to the Japanese yen's perceived safe-haven status and exerted some fresh pressure on the major.

Bearish traders further took cues from the risk-off mood-led sharp intraday fall in the US Treasury bond yields, which kept the US dollar bulls on the defensive and took along some intraday trading stops being placed near the very important 200-day SMA, around the 109.00 handle.

In absence of any major market-moving economic releases from the US, the broader market risk sentiment might continue to act as an exclusive driver of the pair's momentum and produce some meaningful trading opportunities through the US session on Tuesday.

Technical levels to watch