USD/JPY capped by 5-DMA as Nikkei turns cautious ahead of NFP

The USD/JPY pair is seen reversing a spike to near 5-DMA at 101.40, and resume its range trade, a typical calm situation witnessed ahead of the US NFP release.

USD/JPY stuck in a tight range

The dollar-yen pair manages to regain bids after a brief dip towards daily lows, as the bulls continue to cheer upbeat Japanese average cash earning data, which bettered expectations by a big margin.

However, the upside appears capped below 5-DMA barrier as cautious trade prevalent across the Asian markets before the much-awaited US employment data, dampened the sentiment around the major.

At the time of writing, the USD/JPY pair trades modestly flat around 101.25, holding above 101.16 lows, while the Nikkei 22 trimmed gains to now trade +0.20% higher at 16,280 levels.

Next of note for the major remains the US labour market report due later in the NA session, with special focus on the average hourly earnings for fresh insights on the US interest rates policy.

USD/JPY Technical levels to watch

In terms of technicals , the immediate resistance is located at 101.40 (5-DMA). A break above the last, the major could test 102 (round figure). While to the downside, the immediate support is seen at 100.84 (Aug 4 low) and below that at 100.65 (Aug 2 low).