USD/JPY corrects lower below 103, risk-on ignored

Having peaked near 103.40 region, the USD/JPY pair extends its retreat below 103 handle as we head into the mid-Asian trades, little affected by the persisting risk-on sentiment.

USD/JPY mires near lows, but stays above 5-DMA

The JPY bulls fought back control on the back of slightly upbeat Japanese dataflow released earlier on the day, allowing a minor-recovery in the yen against its American counterpart this Friday so far. Japan May CPI came in at -0.4 % y/y versus -0.5% expected, while the BOJ Q2 Tankan Large Manufacturing Index: came in stronger at 6 versus 4 expected.

Moreover, the extended risk-on rally in the equities was offset by sluggish Chinese manufacturing PMI reports, thus, offering some support to the safe-have yen. At the time of writing, USD/JPY trades -0.30% at 102.90, finding bids near 102.85 region, while the Nikkei 225 index jumps +0.67% to 15,680 levels.

Markets continue to digest the manufacturing PMI report released this session from across the Asia-pac regions, as attention now shifts towards the US macro data for further momentum. Meanwhile, the latest Nikkei / Markit Japan manufacturing PMI for June (final): stood at 48.1 vs. 47.8 prelim figures.

USD/JPY Technical levels to watch

In terms of technicals , the immediate resistance is located at 103.33/39 (10-DMA/ Jun 30 high). A break above the last, the major could test 104 (round number). While to the downside, the immediate support is seen at 102.72 (5-DMA) and below that at 102.51 (Daily S1).