The USD/JPY currency pair on Friday extended declines to trade at about 146.651 following the latest round of US data. The currency pair has now plunged to trade several levels below the 100-hour moving average line.
The pair appears to be trading within a descending channel formation in the 60-min chart. As a result, the currency pair has now descended to trade closer to the oversold conditions of the 14-hour RSI.
USD/JPY Fundamentals Overview
From a fundamental perspective, the USD/JPY currency pair is trading on the back of a relatively busy period in the US market. On Friday, the US Jobs data for October came in stronger than expected with a tally of 261k compared to a forecast of 200k.
On the other hand, the average hourly wage growth for the period matched the (YoY) forecast of 4.7%, while the unemployment rate missed the average estimate of 3.6% with 3.7%. Earlier in the week, the initial jobless claims for last week beat the forecast of 220k with a claim count of 217k, while the ADP employment change outshone 195k with a tally of 239k on Wednesday.
In Japan, the Jibun Bank Services PMI for October exceeded the expectation of 53 with a reading of 53.2. Earlier in the week, Monetary Base for October missed the expected (YoY) change of -4.9% with a change of -6.9%, while the preliminary industrial production for September outshone the (YoY) forecast of 8.7% with a change of 9.8%.
USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)
Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair appears to be trading within a sharply descending channel formation in the 60-min chart. This indicates a strong short-term bearish bias in the market sentiment.
Therefore, the bears will be looking to extend the current decline towards 146.214 or lower to 145.729. On the other hand, the bulls will be looking to pounce on rebounds at about 147.220 or higher at 147.723.
USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)
In the daily chart, the USD/JPY currency pair appears to be trading within a descending channel formation. This indicates a significant long-term bearish bias in the market sentiment.
Therefore, the bears will be looking to pounce on extended declines at about 143.970 or lower 141.516. On the other hand, the bulls will be targeting long-term profits at about 148.778 or higher at 151.846.