• The USD/JPY was little changed on Friday as markets were relatively subdued ahead of key U.S. non-farm payrolls data.
• U.S. non-farm payrolls are projected to show a December increase of 160,000 jobs, following 227,000 in November, with unemployment steady at 4.2%.
• A stronger-than-expected result could bolster the case for fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts and trigger renewed selling in volatile bond markets.
• Technical signals are bullish as RSI is at 65, daily momentum studies 5, 9 and 10 SMAs are trending up.
• Immediate resistance is located at 158.63(23.6%fib), any close above will push the pair towards 160.12 (Higher BB).
• Support is seen at 157.36(Jan 7th low) and break below could take the pair towards 156.56 (38.2%fib)
Recommendation: Good to buy around 157.80, with stop loss of 157.00 and target price of 158.50
