FxWirePro: USD/JPY grinds sideways, sluggish trades to continue in the run-up to FOMC meeting

USD/JPY chart - Trading View 

USD/JPY was extending sideways grind along 21-hour EMA, caution likely to prevail in the run-up to FOMC meeting due Wednesday.

The major was trading largely unchanged at 109.13 at 04:35 GMT, with session high and low at 109.24 and 109.09 respectively.

Emergency in Tokyo and surrounding regions is set to end on March 21 and the government is expected to decide on Thursday whether to lift the state of emergency.

Risk sentiment dented after doubts over AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine dims vaccine optimism.

Following multiple European Union (EU) members’ rejections to the AstraZeneca coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, the US is also eyeing further checks.

S&P 500 Futures struggle for a clear direction near the record top while the US 10-year Treasury yield drops 1.5 basis points (bps) to revisit the sub-1.6% area.

US Retail Sales (due 12:30 GMT) could direct global market moves ahead of Wednesday's FOMC meet.

U.S. Retail Sales are forecast to fall 0.5% in February from 5.3%. While, FOMC members are likely to cheer US covid relief package and may upwardly revise their dot-plot forecasts. 

Summary: USD/JPY pivotal at 50-month MA. Market caution likely ahead of FOMC meeting. Price action is moving away from upper Bollinger band on the daily charts. Overbought oscillator also warrant caution. That said, major trend is bullish, pullbacks if any are likely to be shallow.