A calmer mood set to greet European traders later today

Major currencies are seeing light changes for the most part, with even USD/JPY keeping under a 100 pips range for once in Asia this week. Overall, the dollar is marginally softer but the changes for the day are leaving a lot to be desired. Here’s a snapshot of dollar pairs currently:

The US weekly initial jobless claims here was better than estimated and that provided some relief for broader markets. Equities ripped higher and largely ignored another bad bond auction here. The dollar also strengthened slightly but slowly gave back gains against the likes of the euro and pound in particular since the above report.

USD/JPY did pull higher to just above 147.00 but has been consolidating thereabouts since.

The pair is seeing price action caught in between its key hourly moving averages at the moment. The 100-hour moving average is providing a floor at 145.64. Meanwhile, the 200-hour moving average is offering some minor resistance at 148.18 currently. That defines the range in play for USD/JPY as we look to close out the week.

In other markets, S&P 500 futures are up 0.1% with the Nikkei seen up 0.9% on the day. 10-year Treasury yields are down slightly off the 4% mark but still keeping around 3.97% now. There is an air of calm at least as we look towards European trading.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.