- The prevailing cautious mood continues to benefit the JPY’s safe-haven status.
- Increasing Fed rate cut bets weigh on the USD and adds to the weaker tone.
- Traders now look forward to the US monthly retail sales data for some impetus.
The USD/JPY pair was seen consolidating near the lower end of its weekly trading range, below mid-108.00s through the Asian session on Friday.
The pair struggled to capitalize on the overnight attempted bounce and remained depressed on the back of concerns over a further escalation in trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Apart from the trade-related nervousness, increasing likelihood that the Fed will cut interest rates by the end of this year kept the US Dollar bulls on the defensive and kept exerting some pressure on the major.
The incoming softer US economic data – including last Friday’s disappointing release of May monthly jobs report, coupled with slowing inflation forced investors to start pricing in at least two rate cuts in 2019.
The mentioned factors contributed to a weaker tone surrounding the US Treasury bond yields, struggling near multi-year lows and further collaborating to the pair’s weaker tone on the last day of the week.
Moving ahead, today’s US economic docket – highlighting the release of monthly retail sales data, will now be looked upon to grab some short-term trading opportunities later during the early North-American session.
The key focus, however, will be on next week’s FOMC monetary policy meeting, which might provide some fresh clues over the central bank’s near-term policy outlook and eventually provide a fresh directional impetus.
Technical levels to watch
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