USDJPY Technical Analysis – Fears of an intervention keep the pair in a range

<p>US:</p><ul><li>The Fed <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/the-fomc-keeps-the-target-fed-funds-range-at-525-to-550-20230920/">left interest rates unchanged</a> as expected at the last meeting.</li><li>The macroeconomic projections were revised higher,
and the Dot Plot showed that the FOMC still expects another rate hike by the
end of the year with less rate cuts projected in 2024.</li><li><a href="https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/highlights-from-the-fed-chair-powells-press-conference-after-september-rate-decision-20230920/">Fed Chair Powell</a> reaffirmed their data dependency but added that
they will proceed carefully. </li><li>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-september-cpi-37-yy-versus-36-yy-expected-20231012/">US CPI</a> last week beat expectations on the
headline figures, but the core measures came in line with forecasts and the
market’s pricing barely changed. </li><li>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-august-non-farm-payrolls-187k-vs-170k-expected-20230901/">labour market</a> remains fairly solid as seen once again last week
with the beat in <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-initial-jobs-claims-209k-versus-210k-estimate-20231012/">Jobless Claims</a>, although continuing claims surprisingly missed. </li><li>The US PMIs
recently showed that the US economy remains pretty resilient. </li><li>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-october-prelim-umich-consumer-sentiment-630-vs-672-expected-20231013/">University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment</a> report last Friday missed across the
board with the inflation expectations figures spiking back up.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-september-retail-sales-07-versus-03-expected-20231017/">US Retail Sales</a> yesterday beat expectations by a big
margin with positive revisions to the prior figures.</li><li>The Fed members continue to cite elevated long-term
yields as a reason to proceed carefully and will likely pause in November as
well.</li><li>The market doesn’t expect the Fed to hike anymore.</li></ul><p>Japan:</p><ul><li>The BoJ <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/boj-makes-no-change-to-its-major-policy-planks-no-change-to-forward-guidance-20230922/">kept everything unchanged</a> as expected at the last meeting.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/japan-august-inflation-cpi-excluding-fresh-food-energy-43-yy-prior-43-20230921/">Japanese CPI</a> showed that inflationary pressures
remain high with the core-core reading hovering at the cycle highs.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/all-tokyo-area-september-cpi-data-comes-in-way-above-the-2-boj-target-rate-again-20230928/">Unemployment Rate</a> missed expectations although it
remains near cycle lows.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/japan-september-preliminary-manufacturing-pmi-486-prior-496-20230922/">Japanese Manufacturing PMI</a> fell further into contraction but
the Services PMI remains in expansion.</li><li><a href="https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/boj-governor-ueda-will-not-hesitate-to-take-additional-easing-measures-if-necessary-20230922/">BoJ governor Ueda</a> repeated that they will not
hesitate to take additional easing measures if needed.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/all-tokyo-area-september-cpi-data-comes-in-way-above-the-2-boj-target-rate-again-20230928/">Tokyo CPI</a>, which is seen as a leading
indicator for national CPI, continues to fall although it remains above the BoJ
target.</li><li>The latest <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/japan-data-august-inflation-adjusted-real-wages-fell-25-yy-20231005/">Japanese wage data</a> missed expectations again which is
unlikely to lead to a more hawkish BoJ in the near future.</li></ul><p>USDJPY Technical Analysis –
Daily Timeframe</p><p>On the daily chart, we can see
that the USDJPY pair is tentatively approaching again the key 150.00 level as
the fears around another intervention linger. The red 21 <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-understanding-moving-averages-20220425/">moving average</a>
continues to act as a dynamic support for the pair, but we can also notice that
the whole move from the 145.00 level has been <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-understanding-divergence-20220429/">diverging</a> with the
<a href="https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-understanding-macd-20220427/">MACD</a>, which
is generally a sign of weakening momentum. It looks like if we get one notable
negative news, the pair could drop fast back into the 145.00 level. </p><p>USDJPY Technical Analysis –
4 hour Timeframe</p><p>On the 4 hour chart, we can see that the pair has
been printing higher lows into the 150.00 which now formed what looks like an <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/Education/chart-patterns-guide-20220125/">ascending triangle</a>.
Generally, when the price breaks on either side of the pattern we can see a
strong sustained move in the direction of the breakout, so it will be something
to watch out for. </p><p>USDJPY Technical Analysis –
1 hour Timeframe</p><p>On the 1 hour chart, we can see that the
price recently broke above the <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-support-and-resistance-20220405/">resistance</a> around
the 149.35 level which turned into support on a retest. The spike lower
yesterday was caused by an overreaction, probably from some algo, to an <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/boj-reportedly-mulls-raising-price-outlook-for-the-current-fiscal-year-20231017/">old news</a> about
the BoJ raising the inflation forecasts at the next meeting. </p><p>The levels to watch now will be the 149.35
support and the 150.00 resistance. If we get another drop into the support
level, the buyers are likely to step in with a defined risk below the level to
position for a rally into the resistance, ultimately targeting a breakout. The
sellers, on the other hand, will want to see the price breaking through the
support level to pile in and target a selloff into the 145.00 level. </p><p>Upcoming Events</p><p><a href="https://www.forexlive.com/EconomicCalendar">Tomorrow</a> we will get the latest US Jobless Claims
report and the market will want to see if the miss in Continuing Claims last
week was just a blip or the start of a trend. Later in the day, we will also
hear from Fed Chair Powell where the market will be focused on any hint about
the near-term policy outlook. On Friday we get the latest Japanese inflation
figures. Strong US data or a hawkish Powell is likely to support the upside in
the USDJPY pair, while weaker US figures or a surprisingly strong Japanese CPI
might trigger a selloff. </p><p>See the video below</p>

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