USD/JPY holds above 113.00 handle

The USD/JPY pair traded with mild bearish bias for the second straight session but has managed to hold its neck above 113.00 handle. 

Currently trading around 113.20 region, the pair stalled overnight bounce back from 112.90 level near mid-113.00s region amid prevalent risk-off mood as depicted by negative trading sentiment surrounding Asian equity markets. In addition, a follow through retracement in the US treasury bond yields also undermined the greenback and further collaborated to the offered tone surrounding the major.

The US Dollar surrendered previous session's gains to multi-day peaks after minutes from the FOMC latest monetary policy meeting indicated a desire to raise interest rates “fairly soon” but struggled to do so because of uncertainty over the US President Donald Trump's fiscal policies.

On economic data front, Japanese Services PPI for January matched previous month's reading and came-in at +0.5% y/y. Later during NA session, the usual release of weekly jobless claims data from the US would now be looked upon for some fresh impetus. In the meantime, broader market risk-sentiment and the US Dollar price-dynamics would be key determinants of the pair's movement on Thursday.

Technical levels to watch

On a sustained weakness below 113.00 handle, leading to a subsequent drop below 112.90 level, seems to extend the downslide towards 112.40 horizontal support before the pair eventually drops back to 112.00 handle.

Meanwhile on the upside, momentum above 113.45-50 zone is likely to confront resistance near 113.75-80 region above which the pair is likely to surpass 114.00 handle and head towards testing its next resistance near 114.25-30 region.