EUR/JPY Price Analysis: Trapped in the 134.40-135.50 range on mixed-mood and lack of impetus

• The EUR/JPY is barely advancing some 0.03% as the Asian Pacific session begins.
• Risk sentiment fluctuated as US equities finished mixed on Thursday’s session.
• EUR/JPY Price Forecast: Range-bound, but about to break upwards.

The EUR/JPY cross-currency pair remains subdued in choppy trading, as low-yielder currencies, the euro and the Japanese yen, lack the catalyst to stir the exchange rate beyond the narrow trading range. At the time of writing, the EUR/JPY is trading at 134.89.

US equities ended the session mixed, reflecting the market mood. Investors shrugged off Russia-Ukraine chatters, despite Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov complaining that Ukraine’s new draft agreement presented to Russia does not fulfill Russia’s condition on Crimea and Donbas. Meanwhile, late reports said that Russia is regrouping troops as they aim to seize the Eastern regions of Ukraine, Donetsk, and Luhansk.

Aside from this, the EUR/JPY stood within the 134.40-135.50 range in overnight trading, seesawing in the latter for the last three days. It is worth noting that the Relative Strenght Index (RSI) remains in bullish territory as its reading at 62.35 portrays. However, its slope is almost horizontal, depicting the neutral bias of the EUR/JPY.

EUR/JPY Price Forecast: Technical outlook

The 1-hour chart depicts that the EUR/JPY sustained for the last three days, successive series of higher highs and higher lows. However, the 50, 100, and 200-hour simple moving averages (SMAs) above the spot price exert downward pressure on the pair, as EUR/JPY sellers lean on those when opening fresh short bets on the pair.

To the upside, the EUR/JPY’s first resistance would be the confluence of the 50 and 100-SMAs, lying within the 134.95-135.00 area. A breach of the latter would open the door towards the convergence of the 200-SMA and the R1 daily pivot around the 135.34-42 range. Once cleared, it would open the door towards the R2 daily pivot at 136.00, followed by March 30 daily high at 136.84.

On the downside, the EUR/JPY’s first support would be an upslope trendline that passes near 134.50. A break would expose the confluence of the S1 daily pivot and April’s five daily low at 134.30, followed by the 134.00 mark, and then the S2 daily pivot at 133.82.

Technical levels to watch