USD/JPY edges lower toward 108.50 on persistent USD weakness

• US Dollar Index slumped to multi-month lows below 97.50.
• 10-year US Treasury bond yield adds more than 1% on Friday.
• Wall Street’s main indexes look to start the day little changed.

The broad-based selling pressure surrounding the Greenback made it difficult for the USD/JPY pair to capitalize on the rising United States (US) Treasury bond yields on Friday. After rising to a daily high of 108.73 during the European trading hours, the pair lost its traction and was last seen trading at 108.55, losing 0.1% on a daily basis.

USD continues to underperform

The upbeat performance of major European currencies and disappointing macroeconomic data releases from the US this week forced the Greenback to face persistent selling pressure. The US Dollar Index, which gauges the USD’s value against a basket of six major currencies, slumped to its lowest level since late August at 97.44 and was last seen moving sideways near that level, erasing 0.12% on the day and 0.9% since Monday.

Later in the session, participants will be paying close attention to speeches by Kansas City Fed President Esther George, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, and Federal Reserve Vice-Chair Richard Clarida for fresh clues on the possibility of the Fed cutting its policy rate one more time at the end of the month.

On the other hand, although major European equity indexes are staying relatively quiet on Friday as investors refrain from taking large positions ahead of Saturday’s critical Brexit vote in parliament, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield is adding more than 1% to help the pair keep its losses limited.  

Technical levels to watch for