There were not a lot of top-tier data releases today but that didn’t mean lack of volatility for the major currencies!
Today I’m looking at USD/JPY’s short-term uptrend.
Before moving on, ICYMI, I’ve listed the potential economic catalysts that you need to watch out for this week. Check them out before you place your first trades today!
And now for the headlines that rocked the markets in the last trading sessions:
Fresh Market Headlines & Economic Data:
Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong markets out on bank holiday
Over the weekend, China conducted simulated airstrikes against key targets on and around Taiwan. This comes a day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the U.S.
Japan’s consumer confidence index improved from 31.1 to 33.3 in March, the highest reading since May 2022, as the economy recovered further from pandemic disruptions.
Price Action News
Asian session traders started the week by catching up to Friday’s strong(ish) U.S. NFP report and the increased prospects of another rate hike from the Fed.
USD gained pips across the board but found its intraday highs just before the European session open.
A bit of risk-taking soon gained ground and USD gave up some of its intraday gains as more traders price in their post-holiday optimism.
JPY also saw increased volatility, losing pips at the start of Asian session trading on USD strength and then recovering its losses as soon as Japan started printing better-than-expected lower-tier reports.
Upcoming Potential Catalysts on the Forex Economic Calendar:
German, French, and U.K. markets out on bank holiday
FOMC member Williams to give a speech at 4:15 am GMT
Use our new Currency Heat Map to quickly see a visual overview of the forex market’s price action! 🔥 🗺️
USD/JPY: 15-minute
With the spotlight turning back to the Fed’s interest rate plans, you can bet that I’m looking closely at USD/JPY!
The pair started the week with a sharp upswing but also found resistance somewhere near the halfway mark of its full daily ATR and the R2 of today’s Standard Pivot Points.
USD/JPY is now trading closer to the 132.00 major psychological level that lines up with a trend line support that hasn’t been broken since late last week.
Coincidentally, 132.00 is also not far from last week’s broken resistance and today’s Pivot Point mark.
If the Fed rate hike story gains momentum amidst the data-light trading sessions ahead, then USD/JPY could revisit its Monday highs and maybe make new highs in the next few days.
But if traders focus on their global growth concerns, then the safe-haven yen might get more support and drag USD/JPY below its visible uptrend.
