USD/JPY: pressuring 112.00, but upside still seen limited

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

USD/JPY Current price: 111.95

The USD/JPY pair spiked to a fresh weekly high of 112.07 during the Asian session, extending its Monday's rally, but quickly retreated from the key resistance area, amid poor US data and soft yields. The pair fell down to 111.45, but retests the 112.00 level ahead of Wall Street's opening, finding support in a modest uptick in yields, with the 10-year note benchmark now trading around 2.18% after settling at 2.14% yesterday. Ahead of the release of some minor US manufacturing and housing figures, the short term picture for the pair is positive, given that in the 4 hours chart, the price is above its moving averages, whilst technical indicators head higher after bouncing from their mid-lines, now around their daily highs.

Get Forex Headlines by Email

The hottest stories of the currency markets in your inbox

Nevertheless, broad dollar's weakness, particularly against its European rivals, and the weak tone of equities may prevent the pair from advancing much further. Fed's chair Yellen, scheduled to speak later today, is not expected to surprise market players, although her comments may trigger some action around the pair, particularly if yields continue advancing.

Support levels: 111.60 111.25 110.85

Resistance levels: 112.00 112.45 112.90

View Live Chart for the USD/JPY

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.

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.