On Thursday, the USD/JPY currency pair bounced from the key support at about 146.61 to trade at about 147.21 after the latest data. The currency pair trades within a descending channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

The pair continues to trade a few levels below the 100-hour moving average line, despite the latest rebound. Thursday’s rebound prevented the currency pair from falling into the oversold levels of the 14-hour RSI.

USD/JPY Fundamentals Overview

From a fundamental perspective, the USD/JPY currency pair trades during a relatively busy period in both markets. On Wednesday, the U.S. ADP employment change for September missed the expectation of 50k with a change of -32k. The ISM Manufacturing PMI for September exceeded the expectation of 49 with a reading of 49.1, while the ISM Manufacturing Prices Paid missed 63.2 with a reading of 61.9.

Earlier in the week, the Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index for September fell short of the forecasted reading of 43, with a reading of 40.6, while JOLTS job openings for August outshone the expectation of 7.2 million, with a tally of 7.227 million. 

In Japan, the Tankan Large Manufacturing Index for Q3 missed the expectation of 15, with a reading of 14, up from the previous quarter’s equivalent of 13. The Tankan Large Manufacturing Outlook for the quarter also fell short of the forecasted reading of 13, with a reading of 12, unchanged from the previous quarter. Earlier in the week, retail trade for August missed the expected change of 1% with a change of -1.1%.

USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)

Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within a descending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. However, the 14-hour RSI has recently bounced back to avoid falling into oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to stretch the current rebound towards 147.78 or higher to 148.37. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 146.61 or lower at 146.00.

USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation. However, the 14-day RSI has recently pulled back to avoid ascending towards overbought conditions. 

Therefore, the bears will look to extend the current pullback towards 144.62 or lower to 142.15. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on rebounds at about 149.78 or higher at 152.30.