• Last week, the USD/JPY continued its decline, reaching the support level of 155.37, the lowest for the pair in a month and a half, continuing a sell-off from the yen's weakest level in 38 years.
• Since mid-week, the USD/JPY rebounded to reach the resistance level of 157.86, stabilizing around 157.35 at the beginning of this week’s trading.
• The USD/JPY rate will continue to be influenced by the future of central bank policies and the extent of Japanese intervention in the forex markets. 

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According to reliable trading platforms, the performance of the US dollar was mixed at the opening of the first trading session of last week, as the assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump sparked volatile trading conditions in the United States. As markets continue to price in a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve, the US dollar struggled to find support. 

Meanwhile, Tepid comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Monday evening left the greenback rudderless, before a stronger-than-expected batch of US retail sales data lifted the greenback on Tuesday afternoon. While growth stalled in June, an upward revision to the May release provided modest support to the US dollar. Recently, the US dollar has been continued to slide on Wednesday as bets on a Fed rate cut held back any significant movement. However, in the latter part of the session, the dollar attracted some investor support after the release of US industrial production data. 

 The release showed higher-than-expected output in June, while May’s figures were also revised higher. The latest US initial jobless claims data was released on Thursday. Also, the data showed a higher-than-expected number of newly unemployed Americans filing for benefits, suggesting continued stagnation in the US Labor market. However, the US dollar managed to resist losses after recovering from a brief period of oversold trading throughout the week, driven by overbought bets on a Fed rate cut. 

Overall, rising US Treasury yields and cautious market sentiment have supported the US dollar as a safe haven as the week draws to a close. 

USD/JPY Technical analysis and Expectations Today 

USD/JPY has now risen to trade near the 100-hour moving average line. As a result, the pair is trading near overbought levels on the 14-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI). In the near term, based on the hourly chart, USD/JPY is trading within an ascending channel. Also, the 14-hour RSI has risen to trade near overbought levels. Therefore, bulls will target extended gains around 158.00 or higher at 158.60. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks around 156.80 or lower at 156.00. 

In the long term, based on the daily chart, the USD/JPY pair is trading within an ascending channel. However, the 14-day RSI has recently declined to trade near the oversold levels of the indicator. Therefore, the bears will target extended pullbacks around 154.81 or lower at the 152.53 support. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on pullbacks around 159.72 or higher at the 162.00 resistance. 

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