The USDJPY is trading at 149.97 and in the process is pushing the natural resistance at 150.00. A move above and traders will be looking toward the 150.154 level which was the high going back to early October. It is also just below the 200-hour MA at 150.18. A move above each increases the bullish bias from a technical perspective.
The 150.00 level was cryptonite for a while with traders pushing away from it in fear that the Bank of Japan would intervene or threaten to change policy.
Last week, the BOJ tightened policy a bit but not as much as traders expected. As a result, it opened the door for a run in the USDJPY all the way up to 151.707. That took the price within about 12 pips of the October 2022 high (and multi-decade high) at 151.938.
However, the focus returned back to lower US yields as the Fed was more dovish, and the unemployment statistics were more Goldilocks. That sent the price of the USDJPY down to 149.18 on Friday, before rebounding higher today.
Higher US rates are contributing to the upside momentum today with the 10 year yield up 10.2 basis points.
The traders will be eyeing the 150.00 level now. Will the sellers lean against the natural resistance level again?
