USD/JPY bounces around key near-term levels for now

The pair hit a low of 148.90 in late Asia trading and is seen thereabouts again after moving back up to around 149.15 earlier. It is a case of pushing and pulling between buyers and sellers, with key near-term levels in play:

Sellers had previously leaned on the 200-hour moving average (blue line) to resist further the bounce from the October low in trading last week. And now, buyers are leaning somewhat on the 100-hour moving average (red line) at 148.98 to keep the near-term bias more neutral – at least for the time being.

In the bigger picture, the 150.00 mark remains a key psychological barrier in terms of limiting any upside return for USD/JPY. Meanwhile, the October low of 147.27 is one to watch before the key support level from the 100-day moving average at 146.80 comes into play.

Those are the bigger technical considerations for the pair but in the meantime, there is still a bit of pushing and pulling amid the lack of directional play ahead of European trading.