USD/JPY Off-Lows, but Stays Below 109 Amid Oil Sell-Off
The selling pressure behind the USD/JPY
pair accentuated over the last hour, as a renewed bout of risk-aversion
hit markets after the oil prices hit fresh session lows.
USD/JPY another attempt to 109?
The bulls tightened their grip on the Japanese yen in the early European
trades as the oil slump gathered pace and weighed heavily on the market
sentiment, sending Asian equities lower. At the time of writing,
USD/JPY hovers around 109.93, retreating slightly from fresh session
lows struck at 108.86, down -0.24% on the day.
However, the downside remains capped on the back of a mild pullback in
the US dollar and weaker Japanese trade balance numbers. Japan’s trade
surplus expanded, although imports plummeted 14.9% y/y in March to
JPY5.7 trillion, while exports fell 6.8% over the same period to JPY6.5
trillion.
On the data front, next on tap remains the US existing home sales data
due later in the NY session for further cues on the USD moves. While the
oil price action will be closely monitored by markets.
USD/JPY Technical levels to watch
In terms of technicals, the immediate resistance is located at 109.50/
53 (daily R1). A break above the last, the major could test
109.77/109.80 (Apr 15 high/ 20-DMA). While to the downside, the
immediate support is seen at 108.76/73 (10-DMA/ 1h 200-SMA) and below
that at 108.57/50 (Apr 15 low/ psychological levels).
