USD/JPY struggles near 7-week lows, well below mid-106.00s
- USD/JPY remained depressed for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday.
- Worsening US-China relations continued benefitting the JPY’s safe-haven status.
- Bulls seemed rather unimpressed by sustained USD buying, upbeat market mood.
The greenback remained depressed against its Japanese counterpart and dragged the USD/JPY pair to fresh seven-week lows, around the 106.20 region on Wednesday.
The pair prolonged its bearish trend for the fourth consecutive session – also marking its ninth day of a negative move in the previous ten – and failed to gain any respite from a combination of supporting factors.
Despite the latest optimism over the re-opening of economic in some parts of the world, investors remained cautious amid fears about the second wave of a spike in the virus infections and worsening US-China relations.
The US President Donald Trump threatened to impose fresh tariffs on Chinese goods in retaliation to its cover-up and mishandling of the virus outbreak at the early stage. This, in turn, benefitted the Japanese yen's safe-haven status.
As investors awaited Chinese reaction to the US accusations, the pair struggled to find any support from some follow-through US dollar buying and largely shrugged off a positive mood around the global equity markets.
Meanwhile, possibilities of some technical selling below an important horizontal support near the 106.50 region could further be attributed to the pair's weaker tone through the early European session on Wednesday.
Moving ahead, market participants now look forward to the US economic docket, featuring the release of the ADP report on private-sector employment. The data might influence the USD price dynamics and produce some trading opportunities.
Technical levels to watch