The USD/JPY currency pair on Friday pulled back off session highs of about 150.50 to trade at about 149.31 following the latest round of data. The currency pair appears to be trading within a descending channel formation in the 60-min chart.
The pair has now plummeted to trade several levels below the 100-hour moving average line. As a result, the currency pair has fallen into the oversold levels of the 14-hour RSI.
USD/JPY Fundamentals Overview
From a fundamental perspective, the USD/JPY currency pair is trading at the back of a relatively busy period in both markets. On Friday, the US nonfarm payrolls for October fell short of expectations with 150k jobs versus a forecast of 180k.
The unemployment rate for the month also missed the expectation of 3.8% with a rate of 3.9%, while the average hourly wage growth beat the (YoY) forecast of 4% with a growth rate of 4.1%. The labour force participation rate edged slightly lower to 62.7% down from 62.8% in September.
In Japan, the monetary base for October posted grew by 9%, compared to an expected growth rate of 5.9% (YoY). The Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI for the month also outshone the forecast of 48.5 with a reading of 48.8 on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, Japanese retail sales for September missed the (YoY) forecast of 5.9% with a change of 5.8%. The unemployment rate edged lower to 2.6% down from 2.7% in August, in line with estimates.
USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)
Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair appears to be trading within a descending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. The hourly MACD also seems to support a bearish bias after completing a downward crossover.
Therefore, the bears will be looking to extend the current pullbacks toward 148.94 or lower to 148.49. On the other hand, the bulls will be targeting short-term profits at about 149.77 or higher at 150.22.
USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)
In the daily chart, the USD/JPY currency pair appears to be trading within an ascending channel formation. However, the daily MACD seems to be struggling for momentum after completing an upward crossover.
Therefore, the bears will be targeting potential pullbacks at about 147.17 or lower at 144.81. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on profits at about 151.64 or higher at 154.08.