USD/JPY remains stuck below 109.50 as trading volume thins out
- Wall Street's main indexes post modest daily gains on Monday.
- 10-year US Treasury bond yield is up 0.75%.
- US Dollar Index stays flat, looks to close near 97.70.
The USD/JPY pair is trading in an extremely tight range as expected right ahead of the Christmas holiday. As of writing, the pair was down 0.04% on the day at 109.40.
US Dollar Index turns flat after mixed data
Earlier in the day, the data published by the US Census Bureau revealed that Durable Goods Orders in November declined by 2%. However, Durable Goods Orders Excluding Defense rose 0.8% in the same period to help the greenback stay resilient against its rivals. Other data from the US showed that New Home Sales in November increased by 1.3%.
The US Dollar Index advanced to its highest level in more than two weeks at 97.82 but struggled to push higher amid subdued market activity. At the moment, the index is virtually unchanged on the day at 97.68.
In the meantime, boosted by a sharp upsurge in Boeing shares following the company's announcement of leadership change, major equity indexes in the United States started the day on an upbeat tone. Additionally, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield erased early gains and now looks to close with a daily gain of more than 0.5% to reflect positive market sentiment.
Nevertheless, the lack of trading volume didn't allow the pair to make a decisive move in either direction and it would likely take a major market development to force the pair out of its two-week-old trading range before the new year.
Technical levels to watch for