On Thursday, the USD/JPY currency pair bounced back from the session lows of about 157.83 to trade at about 158.47. The currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation on the 60-minute chart.

The pair continues to trade slightly above the 100-hour moving average line after the rebound. However, the currency pair still has some 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 Thursday, the US initial jobless claims for last week came in better than expected, at 189k versus a forecast of 196k, down from the preceding week’s claim count of 195k.

The preliminary nonfarm productivity for Q3 also outperformed the expected change of 2.5%, with a change of 3.6%. On the other hand, the preliminary unit labor costs for the quarter fell short of the expected change of 0.6%, with a change of -0.7%.

On Wednesday, the US ISM Services PMI for October missed the expectation of 54.8, with a reading of 54.5, down from the previous month’s equivalent of 54.9. The ISM Services Prices Paid for the period also edged lower to 73, down from 74. On the other hand, the ADP employment change for October outperformed the expectation of 69k, with 86k, unchanged from September. The S&P Global Composite PMI for the month fell short of 57.6, with a reading of 55.9. 

Earlier in the week, JOLTS job openings for September increased to 7.523 million, up from 7.19 million, beating the forecast of 71.3 million. On the other hand, factory orders for the month outshone the forecast (MoM) change of 1.2%, with a change of 1.8%.

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

Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation on the 60-minute chart. The 14-hour RSI has also bounced back to move closer to overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to stretch the current rebound towards 159.14 or higher, up to 159.85. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 157.83 or lower, down to 157.13.

USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within a sideways channel formation. However, the 14-day RSI still has room to run before reaching overbought conditions after the latest rebound.

Therefore, the bulls will look to ride the current rebound towards 160.45 or higher, up to 162.67. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 156.18 or lower, down to 153.88.