USD/JPY benefits from risk reset, US dollar pullback despite coronavirus fears

• USD/JPY holds onto recovery gains from the multi-week low.
• Broad US dollar pullback, risk reset play their roles while coronavirus continues to spread.
• The Fed announces changes in bank capital rules, the US houses pass an emergency funding bill to fight COVID-19.
• Qualitative catalysts will be the key until the economic calendar gets heavy during the US session.

USD/JPY extends recovery from five-month low while taking rounds to 107.55 during the early Thursday morning in Asia. The US dollar manages to recover from the one-month low after Fed/US government continues to fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) with multiple measures. The BOC and HKMA join the league off-late, with mildly positive data and triggers risk recovery. However, the pandemic continues to affect many lives outside China.

Global policymakers continue their fight against COVID-19…

Following the rate cuts from the RBA and the Fed, the BOC and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) also altered their benchmark interest rates to the south in response to better adjust against the negative economic impacts of the deadly virus.

Recently, the US Federal Reserve announced new rules to determine how much banks must hold in reserve to guard against downturns whereas the House passed roughly $8 billion emergency funding bill to fight the coronavirus.

Additionally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group have also contributed towards helping the countries fight against the pandemic.

With this, market players might have taken positive clues that the global policymakers are active enough to counter the disease and hence portrayed a risk reset.

Also contributing to the pair’s step back from the multi-week low could be upbeat US data and increasing odds that Joe Biden will be the next Democratic Party candidate for the Presidential elections.

While portraying all these, the US 10-year treasury yields recover from record low to 1.055% whereas Wall Street benchmarks marked around 4.0% gains each by the end of their trading on Wednesday.

Looking forward, investors will keep eyes on the coronavirus related headlines as the numbers of the cases in the US as well as Europe, not to forget in Asia, continue to spread. It’s worth mentioning that news of any cures will be a risk boost at the time when markets take a sigh of relief due to the policymakers’ efforts.

Technical Analysis

Lows marked during late-October 2019 and January 2020 around 108.00, followed by February 03 bottom near 108.30, keeps the pair’s near-term upside guarded. Alternatively, any downside below 107.00 can recall the bears.