USD/JPY churning near 150.50 with US NFP around the corner

• The USD/JPY is testing flat heading into Friday's US NFP report.
• Japanese markets dark for a long weekend, Asia market session to see muted volumes.
• US NFP to be closely watched following a dovish Fed in the mid-week.

The USD/JPY is taking a bumpy ride around the 150.50 level as Friday's trading window gets underway. Volumes in the Asia market session are expected to be reduced with Japanese exchanges and banks shuttered in observance of Culture Day. 

It's another US Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) on the cards, and investors will be keeping a close eye on this release as markets are anticipating a notable decline in US jobs growth for October, with headline NFP forecast to come in at 180K versus September's bumper print of 336K.

NFP Preview: Forecasts from nine major banks, employment remains fairly healthy

Markets have been dropping the US Dollar since the Federal Reserve (Fed) gave a dovish showing on Wednesday, and markets are heralding the potential end of the Fed's rate hike cycle as investors turn their attention to waiting for a future Fed rate cut.

Forex Today: Dollar weakens further ahead of NFP

Celebrations may prove to be premature, with money markets currently pricing in the first rate cut from the Fed sometime in the midpoint of 2024.

USD/JPY Technical Outlook 

Despite the mid-week's Fed-fueled USD decline, the USD/JPY remains firmly well-bid in the long-term, trading well above moving averages and hasn't made contact with the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) currently lifting into the 149.00 handle.

Technical resistance is thin on the topside with the USD/JPY inching towards thirty-year highs beyond 2022's peak of 151.94.

USD/JPY Daily Chart

USD/JPY Technical Levels