USD/JPY bulls eyeing a sustained move beyond 108.00 handle
- The USD remains supported by tempered Fed rate cut expectations.
- Escalating geopolitical tensions do little to hinder the positive move.
The USD/JPY pair traded with a positive bias for the second consecutive session on Monday and built on the previous session's goodish bounce from over three-week lows.
The US Dollar regained some positive traction on Friday after the St. Louis Fed President James Bullard partly ruled out the possibilities of 50 bps rate cut at the July meeting and turned out to be one of the key factors behind the pair's intraday up-move around 80-pips.
The momentum extended through the start of a new trading week and seemed rather unaffected by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East - especially after Iran seized a British Oil tanker, which tends to underpin the Japanese Yen's relative safe-haven demand.
Bulls might now be eyeing a follow-through up-move beyond the 108.00 handle, though absent relevant market-moving economic releases might keep a lid on any runaway rally ahead of the highly anticipated two-day FOMC meeting on July 30-31.
Traders also awaited fresh developments in the US-China trade negotiations and hence, it will be prudent to wait for a sustained buying before confirming that the pair might have actually bottomed out in the near-term or positioning for any further near-term appreciating move.
Technical levels to watch