On Friday, the USD/JPY currency pair extended Thursday’s pullback from the current week’s highs of about 159.64 to trade at 159.28. The currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. 

The pair has now fallen to the trade level with the 100-hour moving average line. However, the currency pair recently bounced back to avoid falling 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 both markets. In Japan, the unemployment rate for April fell to 2.5%, down from the previous month’s equivalent of 2.7%, beating the forecasted rate of 2.7%. On the other hand, the Tokyo CPI ex-fresh food for May fell short of the forecasted rate of 1.5%, with a rate of 1.3% (YoY), down from 1.5% in April, while the retail trade for April outperformed the expected (YoY) change of 1.3%, with a change of 2.1%.

In the US, the initial jobless claims for last week came in higher than expected, with 215k versus a forecast of 211k, up from the preceding week’s claim count of 210k. On the other hand, durable goods orders for April outperformed the expected change of 3.5%, with a change of 7.9%. The durable goods orders ex-transportation also beat the forecasted change of 0.5%, with a change of 1.1%, while the nondefense capital goods orders ex-aircraft fell short of the expected change of 0.4%, with a change of -1.1%.

Elsewhere, the personal income for April missed the expected change of 0.4%, with a change of 0% (MoM), while personal spending matched the forecast of 0.5%.

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

Technically, the USD/JPY trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. The 14-hour has also recently bounced back to avoid falling into oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to stretch the latest rebound towards 159.64 or higher to 160.01. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on profits at about 158.83 or lower at 158.44.

USD/JPY Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the USD/JPY currency pair also trades within an ascending channel formation. The 14-day RSI has also bounced back to move closer to overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to extend the current run of gains toward 161.20 or higher to 163.28. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 157.19 or lower at 154.95.