On Friday, the USD/JPY currency pair pulled back from the session highs of about 150.95 to trade at about 149.95 after U.S. data. The currency pair also completed a downward breakout from an ascending channel formation. 

The pair has now fallen to trade slightly below the 100-hour moving average line. Friday’s pullback pushed the currency pair closer to 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 Thursday, the Tokyo CPI ex-fresh food for March beat the forecasted (YoY) change of 2.2% with 2.4%, up from 2.2%. The Tokyo CPI ex-food and energy also improved to 1.1%, up from 0.8%, while the Tokyo Consumer Price Index edged slightly higher to 2.9%, up from 2.8%.

In the U.S., the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for March missed the forecast of 57.9 with 57, down from 57.9 in February. The UoM 5-year consumer inflation expectations for the month improved to 4.1%, up from 3.9%, beating the forecast of 3.9%. On the other hand, the U.S. personal consumption expenditures – price index for March matched the (MoM) and (YoY) forecasts of 0.3% and 2.5%, respectively. 

The personal consumption expenditures – price index for the period outshone the (MoM) and (YoY) forecasts of 0.3% and 2.7%, respectively, with 0.4% and 2.8%. Elsewhere, personal income for March beat the (MoM) expectation of 0.4% with 0.8%, while personal spending missed 0.5% with a change of 0.4%.

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

Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair completed a downward breakout from an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. The 14-hour RSI also supports a bearish bias as it edges closer to oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the current pullback towards 149.10 or lower to 148.12. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on rebounds at about 150.95 or higher at 151.92.

USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation. However, the 14-day RSI still has room left to run before reaching overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to ride the current run of gains towards 154.40 or higher to 158.07. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on profits at about 146.59 or lower at 142.92.