USD/JPY consolidates near 3-week tops, comfortably above 113.00 mark

   “¢   Fading safe-haven demand helps build on this week’s strong upsurge.
   “¢   USD climbs to 16-month tops and remain supportive of the positive move.
   “¢   Traders now eye the US private sector employment details for fresh impetus.

The USD/JPY pair extended its positive momentum further beyond the 113.00 handle and climbed to over three-week tops in the last hour.

After Friday’s resilience below 100-day SMA, the pair staged a solid rebound and continued gaining positive traction for the third consecutive session on Tuesday amid the prevailing bullish sentiment surrounding the USD.

The US President Donald Trump’s optimistic comments over a possible trade deal with China lifted the key US Dollar Index to 16-month tops and turned out to be one of the key factors driving the pair higher

Adding to this, improving risk-appetite, as depicted by a positive tone around equity markets, further dented the Japanese Yen’s safe-haven status and remained supportive of the positive momentum.  

The Japanese Yen’s was also weighed down by the BoJ decision to leave interest rates unchanged and pledge to increase the monetary base at an annualized pace of JPY 80 trillion.

Bulls now seemed taking some breather, especially after the recent upsurge of over 150-pips since the beginning of this week and ahead of the BoJ’s post-meeting press conference.  

Later during the early North-American session, the US private sector employment details – ADP report,  will influence the USD price dynamics and further collaborated towards producing some meaningful trading opportunities.

Technical outlook

Omkar Godbole, Analyst and Editor at FXStreet writes: “The pair could soon find acceptance above 114.74 (November 2017 high) and remains on track to test 118.66 (December 2016 high) in the next few months. The bullish view would be invalidated below 110.00.”