AUD/JPY firm after recent losses, eyes 98.00 amid hawkish RBA minutes

• AUD/JPY halts a three-day losing streak, forming a 'gravestone doji' pattern, indicating potential trend reversal.
• Despite global risk aversion, RBA's hawkish minutes provide support; the AUD/JPY may resume uptrend after dropping to five-day low.
• Technical analysis suggests a neutral to slightly upward trajectory, with key resistance and support levels in focus for short-term direction.

After printing three consecutive days of losses, the AUD/JPY reversed its course is virtually unchanged in the green by a minuscule 0.02%, though retraced more than 1.30%, after testing the 2022 yearly high at around 98.59. At the time of writing, the AUD/JPY is trading at 97.28 as it forms a ‘gravestone doji.’

AUD/JPY pair shows signs of recovery, balancing risk sentiment and RBA's hawkish stance

Sentiment-wise, Wall Street saw a sea of red, lost between 0.18% and 0.58%, a headwind for risk-perceived currencies. Even though risk appetite deteriorated, the AUD/JPY stopped its fall amid hawkish Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) last meeting minutes, which suggest the RBA is far from pausing nor cutting interest rates. That said, the AUD/JPY could resume its uptrend after taking a breather, which witnessed a drop to a five-day low of 96.82.

From a daily chart perspective, the AUD/JPY is neutral to slightly upwards, testing the Tenkan-Sen at 97.31. An upside break would suggest the pair might head towards the November 20 high at 97.72, ahead of the challenging 98.00. Once cleared, the next stop would be the year-to-date (YTD) high at 98.58. On the other hand, expect a drop toward the November 21 low of 96.82.

In the short term, the AUD/JPY has broken above a five-day resistance trendline, which opens the door for further upside. Nevertheless, the pair remains below the Ichimoku cloud, suggesting that there is strong resistance at around 97.30/40. A breach of the latter will expose the November 21 high at 97.40, ahead of the November 20 high at 97.72. Upside risks remain above the latter, with the 98.00 mark up next. On the flip side, failure to crack 97.30/40, expect further downside, with the first support being the Kijun and Tenkan-Sen, each at 97.12 and 97.09, ahead of sliding toward 97.00. the next support would be be the November 21 low of 96.82.

AUD/JPY Price Analysis – Hourly Chart

AUD/JPY Technical Levels