USD/JPY climbs to fresh highs after US nonfarm payrolls

By FXStreet FXStreet (Córdoba) – The US dollar strengthened across the board, climbing to fresh highs versus the yen, following the release of better-than-expected US employment numbers.

US nonfarm payrolls report showed the US economy added 292,000 jobs in December, beating the 200,000 expected and above the 252,000 job gain seen in November (upwardly revised from 211,000). The unemployment rate stood unchanged at 5.0% as expected.

USD/JPY broke above the 100-hour SMA and previous daily highs to peak at 118.82. However, the pair remains within its weekly range and near 4-month lows as the yen has been one of the main beneficiaries from the risk-off mood seen during the first week of the year.

USD/JPY levels to watch

At time of writing, the pair is trading at 118.65, up 0.85% on the day. On the upside, immediate resistances are seen at 119.15 (Jan 6 high) and 119.47 (10-day SMA). On the downside, supports could be found at 117.32 (Jan 7 low), 117.00 (psychological level) and 116.16 (Aug 24 low).
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Source:: FX Street