USD/JPY tumbles toward 149.00 after NFP

• US Dollar drops sharply following a weaker-than-expected US Jobs report.
• USD/JPY has lost almost a hundred pips so far and is approaching weekly lows.

The USD/JPY tumbled from 150.20 to as low as 149.27 following the release of the US official employment report. The US Dollar experienced broad-based weakness after the numbers came in weaker than expected. Wall Street futures are up, extending the weekly rally. Commodity prices are also up sharply. 

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 150,000, below the market consensus of 180,000. The unemployment rate also increased from 3.8% to 3.9%. These figures triggered a strong market response.

US yields collapsed, with the 2-year yield falling from around 5% to 4.85% and the 10-year yield dropping from 4.64% to 4.55%. The US Dollar Index broke below 105.40, reaching its lowest level since September 20.

The USD/JPY currently holds a bearish tone as it approaches 149.00, and a break below that level would bring the weekly low at 148.77 into focus. A consolidation around the current levels could indicate that the short-term trend is changing, which would be welcome news for Japanese officials. However, for this trend to continue, US bonds need to remain in demand.

Despite rising against the US Dollar, the Japanese yen is falling against the rest of the G10 currencies on the back of risk appetite.

USD/JPY Technical levels