USD/JPY flirts with session lows, around 109.00 mark

USD/JPY edged lower on Thursday and eroded a part of the overnight positive move.
Sliding US bond yields weighed on the USD and exerted some pressure on the major.
A softer risk tone underpinned the safe-haven JPY and contributed to the selling bias.

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The USD/JPY pair traded with a negative bias through the early European session and refreshed daily lows in the last hour, with bears now awaiting sustained weakness below the 109.00 mark.

The pair struggled to capitalize on the previous day's hawkish FOMC minutes-led rebound from one-week lows, around the 108.55 support zone and met with some fresh supply on Wednesday. A modest pullback in the US Treasury bond yields kept a lid on the attempted US dollar recovery from multi-month lows. This, in turn, was seen as a key factor that exerted some downward pressure on the USD/JPY pair.

Bearish traders further took cues from a generally softer tone around the equity markets, which tends to underpin demand for the safe-haven Japanese yen. That said, the downside remains cushioned, at least for the time being, amid hints that the Fed has begun debating on QE tapering. This makes it prudent to wait for some follow-through selling before positioning for any further depreciating move.

Market participants now look forward to the US economic docket, featuring the release of the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index and the usual Initial Weekly Jobless Claims, for some impetus. Apart from this, the US bond yields will also influence the USD price dynamics. Traders will further take cues from the broader market risk sentiment to grab some meaningful trading opportunities around the USD/JPY pair.

Technical levels to watch

USD/JPY

Overview
Today last price	109.11
Today Daily Change	-0.12
Today Daily Change %	-0.11
Today daily open	109.23

Trends
Daily SMA20	108.91
Daily SMA50	109.11
Daily SMA100	107.07
Daily SMA200	106

Levels
Previous Daily High	109.34
Previous Daily Low	108.57
Previous Weekly High	109.78
Previous Weekly Low	108.35
Previous Monthly High	110.85
Previous Monthly Low	107.48
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	109.04
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	108.86
Daily Pivot Point S1	108.76
Daily Pivot Point S2	108.28
Daily Pivot Point S3	107.99
Daily Pivot Point R1	109.52
Daily Pivot Point R2	109.81
Daily Pivot Point R3	110.28

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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