USD/JPY jumps to over 1-week tops, closer to mid-109.00s

• USD/JPY continued gaining positive traction for the third consecutive session on Monday.
• A strong recovery in the global risk sentiment weighed on the JPY’s safe-haven status.
• A goodish pickup in the US bond yields underpinned the USD and remained supportive.

The USD/JPY pair added to its intraday gains and climbed further beyond the 109.00 round-figure mark, hitting over one-week tops in the last hour.

The pair built on last week’s recovery move from sub-107.00 levels and continued gaining positive traction for the third consecutive session on Monday amid a solid recovery in the global risk sentiment.

A decline in fatalities from the COVID-19 offered a sigh of relief to the traders and the same was evident from strong gains in the US equity futures, which undermined the Japanese yen’s safe-haven demand.

The JPY was further weighed down by TBS News report that the Japanese government is considering six months for a state of emergency declaration to curb the coronavirus outbreak in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the risk-on mood was further reinforced by a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields, which extended some support to the US dollar and contributed to the pair’s positive move.

This coupled with some technical buying above the very important, 200-day SMA, which took along some short-term trading stops near the 109.00 mark, further accelerated the intraday momentum.

Currently placed near session tops, around the 109.35-40 region, some follow-through buying should pave the way for additional gains, possibly towards reclaiming the 110.00 psychological mark.

Technical levels to watch