USD/JPY Price Analysis: 200-HMA prods bulls around mid-131.00s

• USD/JPY bulls take a breather after rising nearly 80-pips on key resistance break.
• Nearly Overbought RSI conditions join 200-HMA to challenge Yen pair buyers.
• Three-week-old descending trend line adds to the upside filters.
• Weekly support line stops bears from retaking control.

USD/JPY struggles around intraday high, after a stellar run-up to 131.66, as the key moving average challenges the Yen pair buyers during early Wednesday. Also testing the upside momentum are the overbought conditions of the Relative Strength Index (RSI) line, placed at 14.

That said, USD/JPY rallied nearly 85 pips on breaking a fortnight-long descending trend line. The recovery moves, however, failed to cross the 200-Hour Moving Average (HMA).

It’s worth noting that the MACD signals are bullish and can join the latest trend line breakout to propel Yen prices beyond the latest HMA hurdle surrounding 131.55.

Even so, a downward-sloping resistance line from March 08, close to 131.90 by the press time, closely followed by the 132.00 round figure, could challenge the USD/JPY bulls.

On the contrary, pullback moves remain elusive unless staying beyond the previous resistance line, around 131.05 at the latest.

Following that, an ascending trend line from the last Friday, close to 130.60, will precede the latest swing low around 129.65 to act as the last defence of the USD/JPY bulls.

To sum up, the USD/JPY pair is likely to grind higher even if the bullish trend appears far from here.

USD/JPY: Hourly chart

Trend: Limited upside expected