USD/JPY Forecast: Lower in range, bearish below 104.00

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

USD/JPY Current price: 104.24

Japan’s Tokyo inflation is expected to have contracted further in November.
A holiday in the US exacerbates the quietness around USD/JPY.
USD/JPY consolidates daily losses in the 104.20 price zone.

The USD/JPY pair trades in the 104.20 price zone, consolidating losses after giving up some ground at the beginning of the day, amid the broad dollar’s weakness. A sour market mood throughout the European session kept the pair under pressure, while a US holiday exacerbated range trading through the second part of the day.

Japan published the final reading of the September Leading Economic Index, which resulted at 92.5, below the 92.9 expected. The Coincident Index for the same period improved to 81.1. The US won’t release macroeconomic data for the rest of the week. Early on Friday, Japan will publish November Tokyo inflation, foreseen at -0.6% YoY contracting further from the previous -0.3%.

USD/JPY short-term technical outlook

The USD/JPY pair remains lifeless at daily lows, gaining bearish potential in the near-term. The 4-hour chart shows that the pair is now below all of its moving averages, with the 20 SMA still maintaining its bullish slope. The Momentum indicator turned lower after failing to surpass its midline, while the RSI is directionless around 48. Thin market conditions may see the pair holding within familiar levels this Friday, although the risk is skewed to the downside.

Support levels: 103.95 103.50 103.15

Resistance levels: 104.65 105.00 105.40

View Live Chart for the USD/JPY

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Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

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