USD/JPY sits near multi-week tops, bulls await a move beyond 107.00 mark


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  • USD/JPY reversed an early dip to the 106.55 region and turned positive for the day.
  • A combination of factors held investors from placing bullish bets and capped gains.

The USD/JPY pair moved back closer to three-week tops set on Wednesday, with bulls still awaiting a sustained move beyond the 107.00 round-figure mark.

The managed to attract some dip-buying near the 106.55 region and moved into the positive territory for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday. The uptick was supported by a goodish intraday bounce in the US Treasury bond yields, albeit a combination of factors kept a lid on any strong follow-through positive move, at least for the time being.

The political deadlock over the next round of the US fiscal stimulus measures continued exerting downward pressure on the US dollar, which remained depressed despite upbeat US macro data. According to the Labor Department, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to 963K as against consensus estimates pointing to a reading of 1.12 million.

Apart from this, a cautious mood around the equity markets extended some support to the safe-haven Japanese yen. This, in turn, further contributed towards capping the upside fo the USD/JPY pair. Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some strong follow-through buying beyond the 107.00 mark before positioning for an extension of the recent bounce from five-month lows.

In the meantime, the broader market risk sentiment and the USD price dynamics will be looked upon for some short-term trading opportunities.

Technical levels to watch