On Friday, the USD/JPY currency pair bounced back from the session lows of about 156.96 to trade at about 157.80. The currency pair trades within a sideways channel formation on the 60-minute chart.

The pair has now advanced to trade slightly above the 100-hour moving average line. However, the currency pair still has plenty of room left to run before reaching the overbought 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 the US market. On Friday, the US jobs data for September fell to 29k, down from the previous month’s revised figure of 133k, missing the forecast net jobs change of 90k. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, up from 4% in August, also missing the forecast rate of 4.1%.

On the other hand, the average hourly wage growth for the period fell short of the forecast (MoM) and (YoY) changes of 0.3% and 3.3%, respectively, with a change of 0.1% and 3%. Elsewhere, US factory orders for August matched the forecast (MoM) change of 0.1%. 

In Japan, the September unemployment rate rose slightly to 2.5%, up from 2.4%, missing the forecast of 2.4%. The Tokyo consumer price index for September also rose to 2.7%, up from 1.9% in August, while Tokyo CPI ex-food and energy rose to 3%, up from 2%. On the other hand, the Tokyo CPI ex-fresh food rose to 2.7%, up from the previous month’s equivalent of 1.8%, beating the forecast rate of 2.4%.

Earlier in the week, Japan’s Tankan all-industry capex for Q3 missed the expectation of 12.3%, wth a change of 11.3%. The Tankan Large Manufacturing Index and Outlook also missed forecasts of 25 and 22, respectively, at 24 and 21.

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

Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within a sideways channel formation on the 60-minute chart. 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 158.50 or higher, to 159.37. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 156.96 or lower, at 156.09.

USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within a descending channel formation. However, the 14-day RSI has recently bounced back to recover from oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to extend the current rebound towards 160.16 or higher, up to 162.46. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 155.34 or lower, down to 152.82.