On Friday, the USD/JPY currency pair pulled back from the session highs of about 159.54 to trade at about 158.25. The currency pair trades within a sideways channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

The pair has now fallen to trade a few levels below the 100-hour moving average line. As a result, the currency pair has slipped into 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 the US market. On Thursday, the US initial jobless claims for last week came in better than expected, with 207k versus a forecast of 215k, down from the previous week’s equivalent of 218k. 

On the other hand, the industrial production for March fell short of the forecasted (MoM) change of 0.1%, with a change of -0.5%, while the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey for April beat the forecast of 10, with 26.7, up from 18.1. Elsewhere, the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for April outperformed the expectation of -0.5, with a reading of 11, up from -0.2. 

Earlier in the week, the US producer price index for March missed the expected (MoM) change of 1.2%, with a change of 0.5%. The (YoY) equivalent also fell short of the forecasted change of 4.6%, with a change of 4%. On the other hand, the producer price index ex-food and energy for the period failed to match the forecasted changes of 0.6% (MoM) and 4.2% (YoY), with 0.1% and 3.8%.

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

Technically, the USD/JPY currency pair trades within a sideways channel formation in the 60-minute chart. The 14-hour RSI also supports a short-term bearish bias after entering oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the latest pullback towards 156.99 or lower to 155.82. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on rebounds at about 159.54 or higher at 160.70.

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 bounced back to avoid rallying into overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the latest pullback towards 154.84 or lower to 151.44. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on profits at about 161.63 or higher at 164.92.