USD/JPY: Awful US employment data to lead the break below 105.30

The USD/JPY pair is trading uneventfully around 105.50 while pressure mounts ahead of US employment data. The bearish potential is set to accelerate on a break below 105.30, the weekly low, FXStreet’s Chief Analyst Valeria Bednarik reports.

Key quotes

“The market’s attention is now centred in US employment data, ahead of the Nonfarm Payroll report to be out on Friday. The US will publish the July Challenger Job Cuts, previously at 170.219K and Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended July 31, foreseen at 1.41M from 1.43M in the previous week. So far, employment-related data released these days hints a terrible number for July. Falling equities and Treasury yields flirting with multi-month lows skew the risk to the downside.”

“The USD/JPY pair is bearish according to technical readings in the 4-hour chart, as the 20 SMA has turned south, capping the upside around 105.76. Technical indicators, in the meantime, turned lower within negative levels. The pair needs to break below 105.31, the weekly low, to confirm a new leg lower which can extend towards the 104.40 price zone.”