Technical Analysis: USD/JPY slides closer to 23.6% Fibo. level of December-February rally

From a technical perspective, the recent repeated failures ahead of the 151.00 mark, or the YTD peak, and the subsequent fall favours bearish traders. Moreover, oscillators on the daily chart have just started gaining negative traction and support prospects for a further near-term depreciating move. Some follow-through selling below the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the December-February rally, around the 148.40-148.35 region, will reaffirm the bearish setup and drag the USD/JPY pair to the 148.00 mark. This is closely followed by the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), currently around the 147.80 zone, which if broken decisively will expose the 38.2% Fibo. level, near the 146.80 area, with some intermediate support near the 147.00 round figure.

On the flip side, the 149.00 mark might now act as an immediate strong barrier. Any further move up is more likely to attract fresh sellers and remain capped near the 149.70 horizontal support breakpoint, now turned resistance. That said, some follow-through buying, leading to a subsequent strength beyond the 150.00 psychological mark, will suggest that the recent corrective slide from the YTD peak has run its course and shift the bias in favour of bullish traders. The USD/JPY pair might then surpass the 150.40-150.50 hurdle and make a fresh attempt to conquer the 151.00 round-figure mark