USD/JPY Price Forecast: 160.00 caps bulls as intervention risk lingers

The USD/JPY drifts higher for the third straight day, up a modest 0.11%, as buyers reaffirm their control over price action despite uncertainty over another round of intervention by Japanese authorities. The pair trades at 159.38 at the time of writing.

USD/JPY Price Forecast: Technical outlook

The USD/JPY trades at weekly highs, though capped on the upside by a flattish 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 159.98. This means that buyers remain skeptical of achieving higher prices, as the 160.00 barrier remains intact, since the pair cleared that level on July 31.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) shows that momentum remains neutral, meaning that neither buyers nor sellers are secure from opening fresh directional bets.

For a bullish continuation, the USD/JPY must surpass the 100-day SMA and the 160.00 figure. Once cleared, buyers could challenge the 50-day SMA at 160.92, ahead of 161.00.

Conversely, if USD/JPY falls below 159.00, a move towards the 200-day SMA at 159.39 is on the cards. The next support emerges at the 159.00 milestone, before the pair aims for the August 7 daily low of 158.88.

USD/JPY Price Chart – Daily