USDJPY Technical Analysis

USD

• The Fed left interest rates unchanged as expected at the last meeting with basically no
  change to the statement. The Dot Plot still showed three rate cuts for 2024 and
  the economic projections were upgraded with growth and inflation higher and the
  unemployment rate lower.
• Fed Chair Powell maintained a neutral stance as he said that it was
  premature to react to the recent inflation data given possible bumps on the way
  to their 2% target.
• The US CPI and the US PPI beat expectations for the second
  consecutive month.
• The US NFP beat expectations across the board
  although the average hourly earnings came in line with forecasts.
• The US ISM Manufacturing PMI beat expectations by a big margin with
  the prices component continuing to increase, while the US ISM Services PMI missed with the price index dropping to
  the lowest level in 4 years.
• There’s now basically a 50/50 chance of a rate cut
  in June.

JPY

• The BoJ finally exited the negative interest rates
  policy as expected at
  the last meeting raising interest rates by 10 bps bringing the rate to a target
  between 0.00-0.10%. Moreover, the central bank scrapped the yield curve control
  and the ETF purchases, while maintaining QE in place.
• The latest Unemployment Rate missed expectations although it
  continues to hover around cycle lows.
• The Japanese PMIs improved further for both the
  Manufacturing and Services measures although the former remains in
  contractionary territory.
• The latest Japanese wage data came in line with expectations.
• The Tokyo CPI, which is seen as a leading
  indicator for National CPI, came in line with expectations.
• The market expects another rate hike
  from the BoJ this year although the timing remains uncertain.

USDJPY Technical Analysis –
Daily Timeframe

On the daily chart, we can see
that USDJPY continues to consolidate just beneath a crucial resistance level at
151.92. In fact, we can notice that the pair has formed a big ascending triangle and a
break above the resistance could trigger a strong move to the upside. We can
expect the sellers to step in around these levels with a defined risk above the
resistance to position for a drop all the way back to the bottom trendline of the
triangle. The buyers, on the other hand, will want to see the price breaking
higher to increase the bullish bets and target new highs.

USDJPY
Technical Analysis – 4 hour Timeframe

On the 4 hour chart, we can see that the price has
been ranging between the 151.00 support and the 151.92 resistance as the risk
of an intervention put a lid on further gains. The price recently rallied back
into the resistance and it’s now pressing on it threatening a breakout. Even if
we get a breakout, it would be better to wait for the US CPI report tomorrow as
a miss will likely trigger a selloff leaving behind a fakeout.

USDJPY Technical Analysis –
1 hour Timeframe

On the 1 hour chart, we can see more
closely the recent price action with the rally from the 151.00 support back
into the 151.92 resistance. We can see that we have another strong zone around
the 151.50 level where the price reacted to several times in the past weeks. If
the price falls back into that zone, the buyers might want to step in with a
defined risk below it to position for a breakout with a better risk to reward
setup. The sellers, on the other hand, will want to see the price breaking
lower to increase the bearish bets into the 151.00 support targeting a breakout
to the downside.

Upcoming Events

Tomorrow we get the US CPI report and the FOMC Minutes.
On Thursday, we will have the US PPI and the latest US Jobless Claims figures.
On Friday, we conclude the week with the University of Michigan Consumer
Sentiment Survey.

See the video below

This article was written by FL Contributors at www.forexlive.com.