The USD/JPY currency pair has registered consecutive bullish sessions, trading at 159.27 and up 0.36% on Wednesday after testing key support at the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) around 158.24 earlier in the week [1]. Despite this upward momentum, the pair remains below the weekly high of 159.65 reached on Monday [1]. Technical indicators, including the Relative Strength Index (RSI), suggest the possibility of retesting weekly highs in the short term, but concerns about potential intervention by Japanese authorities in the foreign exchange market may limit further gains toward the 160.00 level [1].
On the downside, the 20-day SMA at 158.24 serves as the first support, followed by the March 19 daily low of 157.51 and the 50-day SMA at 156.56. Further weakness could see the pair testing the 100-day SMA at 156.26 and then 156.00 [1].
The Japanese Yen's performance this week shows it was strongest against the Canadian Dollar, with a 0.65% gain, but relatively flat against the US Dollar, with only a 0.03% change [1]. The heat map of major currencies highlights the Yen's mixed performance, indicating limited movement against the USD but more pronounced strength versus CAD [1].
Market participants are closely watching for signs of intervention, which could impact USD/JPY's ability to break above the 160.00 milestone. The technical outlook remains cautiously bullish, but intervention fears are a key factor restraining further upside [1].
CONCLUSION
USD/JPY continues its bullish momentum but faces resistance near 159.50, with technical indicators pointing to a possible retest of recent highs. However, concerns about Japanese intervention are tempering market enthusiasm. The Yen's performance remains mixed, and traders are likely to remain cautious until intervention risks are clarified.