28.12.201516:24 Forex Analysis & Reviews: Technical analysis of USD/JPY for December 28, 2015

The USD/JPY pair is expected to trade in a lower range. At Thursday's shortened session, the US stock indexes slipped as energy shares pared some gains of the previous sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 17552, the S&P 500 edged down 0.2% to 2060, while the Nasdaq Composite rose less than 0.1% to 5048.

Nymex crude oil continued its rally gaining another 1.6% to settle at $38.10 a barrel, while gold added 0.5% to $1,075 a troy ounce. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield declined to 2.241% from 2.262% at the previous session.

Meanwhile, the US dollar continued moving in its downtrend, with the Wall Street Journal Dollar Index declining 0.4% to 89.64. EUR/USD increased 0.6% to 1.0969, USD/JPY lost 0.4% to 120.42 The pair remains on the downside lacking upward momentum. Currently, it is trading below the 20-period (30-minute chart) moving average, which stands below the 50-period one. At the same time, the intraday relative strength index is badly directed below the neutrality level of 50. We are still bearish about our intraday outlook, and the pair is expected to return to the first downside target at 120.00 before declining further to 119.75 (last seen on Oct. 22).

Trading recommendations:

The pair is trading below its pivot point. It is likely to trade in a lower range as long as it remains below the pivot point. Short positions are recommended with the first target at 120.00. A break of that target will move the pair further downwards to 119.75. The pivot point stands at 120.75. In case the price moves in the opposite direction and bounces back from the support level, it will move above its pivot point. It is likely to move further to the upside. According to that scenario, long positions are recommended with the first target at 121 and the second target at 121.30.

Resistance levels: 121.00, 121.30, 121.75

Support levels: 120.00, 119.75, 119.35