USD/JPY eases from highs, back to 103.80 ahead of NFP

After reaching fresh highs above the 104.00 handle on Thursday, USD/JPY has now slipped back to the 103.85/80 band.

USD/JPY attention to Payrolls

Despite the current slide, spot keeps its rally intact at the end of the week, advancing for the second consecutive week and up around 4 cents since recent lows in the 100.00 neighbourhood seen in early September.

Along with the continuation of the selling bias around the Japanese safe haven, the greenback has been gathering extra pace backed by positive results in the US calendar and rising speculations on a Fed’s rate hike at the December meeting.

Ahead in the session, US Non-farm Payrolls are expected to show the economy has added more than 170K jobs during September, while the unemployment rate is seen at 4.9%. In addition, FOMC’s S.Fischer, L.Mester and E.George are due to speak in Washington, keeping the focus on the buck.

USD/JPY levels to consider

As of writing the pair is losing 0.13% at 103.80 and a breakdown of 101.99 (55-day sma) would aim for 101.83 (20-day sma) and finally 100.07 (low Sep.22). On the other hand, the next up barrier aligns at 104.33 (high Sep.2) ahead of 107.48 (high Jul.21) and finally 108.30 (200-day sma).