USD/JPY sticks to the 141.00-145.00 range – UOB

USD/JPY is now likely to trade within the 141.00-145.00 band in the near term, comment FX Strategists at UOB Group Lee Sue Ann and Quek Ser Leang.

Key Quotes

24-hour view: “We highlighted yesterday that ‘further USD strength appears likely even though overbought conditions suggest a sustained rise above 145.00 is unlikely’. However, USD did not break 145.00 as it rose to 144.95 before staging a surprisingly sharp drop to a low 142.54. Despite the bounce from the low, the underlying tone appears to be soft and USD could dip below 142.50. The next support at 142.00 is unlikely to come under threat. Resistance is at 143.60 followed by 144.10.”

Next 1-3 weeks: “After the strong advance on Tuesday, we highlighted yesterday (14 Sep, spot 144.50) that while upward momentum has improved, USD has to close above the major resistance at 145.00 below further advance is likely. We added, ‘a break of 143.30 would indicate that USD is not ready to move above 145.00 in a sustained manner’. USD rose to 144.95 during Asian hours yesterday before plunging below our ‘strong support’ level at 143.30. The breach of the ‘strong support’ indicates that USD is not ready to move above 145.00 in a sustained manner. From here, USD is likely to trade between 141.00 and 145.00 for a period of time.”