USDJPY retains the bullish bias as traders pare back Fed rate cut bets; BoJ lacks support

FUNDAMENTAL OVERVIEWUSD:The US dollar strengthened across
the board on safe haven demand this week after the US-Iran conflict erupted
over the weekend. The main driver though was the market’s realisation that rate
cuts might not come as soon as expected. In fact, higher oil prices
will eventually put upward pressure on inflation and the US data this week clearly
showed that the economy has been re-accelerating since the start of the year
and not slowing down further. Traders pared back their
rate cut bets this week with the total easing by year-end now seen around 41
bps vs 58 bps on Friday. Tomorrow, we have the US NFP report and all the jobs
data we got up until now suggests that we will likely get good data. JPY:On the JPY side, nothing
has changed as PM Takaichi’s opposition and, more importantly the data, haven’t
been supporting a rate hike any time soon. The latest Japanese CPI fell below
the BoJ’s 2% target, dealing another blow to the central bank’s efforts to
further raise interest rates. The market is still pricing
a rate hike in June at the earliest with a total of two rate hikes by year-end.
This might turn out to be too optimistic. The Japanese yen will continue to
weaken as rate hike expectations get pushed further out. USDJPY TECHNICAL
ANALYSIS – DAILY TIMEFRAMEOn the daily chart, we can
see that USDJPY stalled at the key 157.65
level as the sellers stepped in to position for a drop back into the major
trendline. The buyers will need a break above the swing level to extend the
rally into the 159.00 handle next. USDJPY TECHNICAL
ANALYSIS – 4 HOUR TIMEFRAMEOn the 4 hour chart, we can
see the price probed below the minor upward trendline but eventually bounced
back above it. The buyers will likely continue to step in around the trendline with
a defined risk below it to keep pushing into new highs. The sellers, on the
other hand, will look for a break lower to increase the bearish bets into the
major trendline. USDJPY TECHNICAL
ANALYSIS – 1 HOUR TIMEFRAMEOn the 1 hour chart, we can
see the price broke above the minor downward trendline that was defining the pullback
into the 4-hour trendline. The buyers piled in on the break to position for a
rally into new highs. The sellers, on the other hand, will need to see the
price breaking lower again to regain some control and target new lows. The red
lines define the average daily range for today. UPCOMING CATALYSTSToday we get the latest US Jobless Claims figures. Tomorrow, we conclude
the week with the US NFP report. Continue to keep an eye on the US-Iran war
headlines as that’s what the market is focused on right now.
This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.

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