USD/JPY Technical Analysis: Intraday uptick falters ahead of descending trend-line/200-hour SMA

• USD/JPY once again manages to find some support near 108.45 region.
• The set-up warrants some caution before placing any directional bets.

The USD/JPY pair continued showing some resilience below mid-108.00s and managed to regain some positive traction on Thursday. The attempted recovery, however, lacked any strong follow-through and remained capped below a one-week-old descending trend-line.

Given the pair's repeated rebounds from the 108.45 horizontal support, the mentioned trend-line constitutes towards the formation of a descending triangle on the 1-hourly chart. The descending triangle is a bearish continuation pattern that marks a brief consolidation during a downtrend.

Meanwhile, natural technical indicators on hourly/daily charts haven't been supportive of any firm near-term direction, warranting some caution. Hence, it will be prudent to wait for a convincing break through the formation before placing any aggressive directional bets.

Below the mentioned horizontal zone (triangle support), the pair is likely to accelerate the slide towards intermediate support near the 108.25 region before eventually falling to test sub-108.00 levels (107.90-85 region touched on November 1).

On the flip side, the top end of the triangle, around the 108.75 region, coincides with 200-hour SMA and hence, might now act as a key trigger point for bullish traders. A sustained strength beyond the said confluence barrier will set the stage for a move beyond the 109.00 handle.

USD/JPY 1-hourly chart