- USDJPY keeps its footing on 20-day SMA at 148.75
- Broad uptrend intact, but technical signals warrant some caution
USDJPY remains range-bound around its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) for the sixth consecutive trading day as investors eagerly wait for September’s US CPI inflation report due at 12:30 GMT.
Despite the resilience in the price, the RSI and the MACD cannot warrant a bullish reversal. The former, although above 50, keeps trending southwards, while the latter is also decelerating below its red signal line. Furthermore, the candlestick arrangement at the uptrend’s high resembles a bearish hanging man pattern, suggesting an upcoming market downturn.
If the floor around the 20-day SMA at 148.75 collapses, the pair could dive to meet its 50-day SMA near 147.27. The 23.6% Fibonacci retracement of the latest upleg is within the neighborhood. Hence, a step lower could confirm an extension towards the 145.00 constraining zone, where the price peaked in June. A defeat there would distort the positive trend in the market, though only a slump below the broad bullish channel at 143.30 would indicate a bearish change in the trend.
Alternatively,another positive close above the 20-day SMA could lift the price into the 150.75-151.65 key resistance zone. A bullish channel breakout above the 2022 high of 151.93 could prompt an advance towards the 155.30-156.15 restricted zone and the ascending line from June, unless the 1987 barrier of 153.75 blocks the way up.
In brief, the technical short-term outlook has not improved so far this week, but a key support area is still solid at 148.75. Any declines below that threshold could put sellers in the driver’s seat.
 for the sixth consecutive trading day as investors eagerly wait for September’s US CPI inflation report due at 12:30 GMT.){kind=link}