On Friday, the USD/JPY currency pair pulled back from the session highs of about 157.48 to trade at about 156.51 after the latest data. The currency pair trades within a descending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. 

The pair continues to trade slightly above the 100-hour moving average line, despite the pullback. Friday’s pullback pushed the currency pair closer to the oversold levels of the 14-hour RSI.

AUD/USD Fundamentals Overview

From a fundamental perspective, the AUD/USD currency pair trades during a relatively busy period in both markets. On Friday, Japanese exports for October exceeded the (YoY) forecast of 1.1%, with a change of 3.6%. Imports for the period also outshone the expected change of -0.7% with a change of 0.7%.

The national CPI ex-fresh food for the month matched the forecasted change of 3% (YoY), up from 2.9% in September. Earlier in the week, the preliminary gross domestic product for Q3 beat the forecast of -0.6%, with a change of -0.4% (QoQ). The preliminary annualized GDP for the period also beat -2.5%, with a change of -1.8%.

In the U.S., nonfarm payrolls for September came in stronger than expected, with 119k versus a forecast of 50k, up from the previous month’s equivalent of -4k. The unemployment rate for the month rose from 4.3% in August to 4.4%, missing the forecasted rate of 4.3%.

On the other hand, the average hourly wage growth for the period outshone the (YoY) forecast of 3.7%, with a change of 3.8%. The (MoM) equivalent fell short of 0.3%, with a change of 0.2%.

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

Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within a descending 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 decline towards 155.52 or lower to 154.53. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on rebounds at about 157.48 or higher at 158.49.

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 avoid rallying into overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to extend the current pullback towards 152.97 or lower to 149.85. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on profits at about 159.63 or higher at 162.95.