On Friday, the USD/JPY currency pair pulled back off the current 10-week highs of about 150.28 to trade at about 149.76. The currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

Friday’s pullback pushed the currency pair closer to the 100-hour moving average line. However, the pair still has room left to run before reaching 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 Friday, the U.S. building permits for September missed the expectation of 1.46 million with a tally of 1.428 million. On the other hand, the housing starts for the period outshone the forecast of 1.35 million with 1.354 million.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. retail sales for September exceeded expectations of 0.3% with a change of 0.4% (MoM), while the retail sales ex-autos outshone 0.1% with a change of 0.5%. Elsewhere, the U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending October 11 came in significantly lower than expected with 241k versus a forecast of 260k. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey for October also beat the forecast of 3 with 10.3.

In Japan, exports for September missed the forecast of 0.5% with a change of -1.7% (YoY), while imports for the period fell short of 3.2% with a change of 2.1% (YoY). The national consumer price index for September fell to 2.5% from 3% in August, while the CPI ex-food and energy increased to 2.1% from 2%. On the other hand, the CPI ex-fresh food beat the forecast of 2.3% with 2.4%, down from 2.8% in August.

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

Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. However, the 14-hour RSI has pulled back to avoid rallying into overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to extend the pullbacks toward 149.15 or lower to 148.52. On the other hand, the bulls will look to ride the current gains toward 150.28 or higher to 150.91. 

USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation. The 14-day RSI also seems to support a bullish bias as it advances towards overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will be looking to stretch the current rally towards 152.31 or higher to 154.94. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on profits at about 147.31 or lower at 144.50