On Friday, the USD/JPY currency pair pulled back from the session highs of about 155.65 to trade at about 155.36 after the latest data. The currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

The pair continues to trade several levels above the 100-hour moving average line, despite the latest pullback. Friday’s pullback helped the currency pair recover from 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. In Japan, Exports for January outperformed the (YoY) expectation of 12%, with a change of 16.8%. On the other hand, imports for the period fell short of the forecasted (YoY) change of 3%, with a change of -2.5%.

Overall, the Merchandise Trade balance for the month outshone the estimate of -2,142.1 billion yen, with -1,152.7 billion yen, down from 113.5 billion yen in December. The National CPI ex-fresh food for January fell to 2%, down from 2.4% (YoY), in line with expectations.

In the US, the core personal consumption expenditures price index for December outperformed the (MoM) forecast of 0.3%, with 0.4%. The (YoY) equivalent also outshone the forecast of 2.9%, with 3%. The preliminary annualized US gross domestic product for Q4 missed the expected change of 3%, with a change of 1.4%.

The personal consumption expenditures – price index for December exceeded the (MoM) and (YoY) expectations of 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively, with changes of 0.4% and 2.9%. The personal income and personal spending for the month matched the estimates of 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.

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 recently pulled back to recover from overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to extend the latest pullback towards 154.99 or lower to 154.63. On the other hand, the bulls will look to ride the current rally towards 155.65 or higher to 155.99.

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 has recently pulled back to move closer to oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the latest pullback towards 152.84 or lower to 150.31. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on rebounds at about 157.42 or higher at 160.07.