(Technical change on this timeframe is often limited though serves as guidance to potential longer-term moves)
Since kicking off 2017, USD/JPY has been busy carving out a descending triangle pattern between 118.66/104.62. The month of March concluded by way of a long-legged doji candlestick pattern, ranging between 111.71/101.18, with extremes piercing the outer limits of the aforementioned descending triangle formation. April so far has been pretty uneventful, ranging between 109.38/106.92.
Areas outside of the noted pattern can be seen at supply from 126.10/122.66 and a demand coming in at 96.41/100.81.
Daily timeframe:
Demand from 105.70/106.66 greeted price action Tuesday after consolidating south of the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) at 108.28 since mid-April. Should the said demand cede ground, we can potentially look forward to demand plotted at 100.68/101.85 making an appearance.
H4 timeframe:
Partially altered from previous analysis -
Demand at 106.75/107.22 has remained a feature since the beginning of the month, though thanks to yesterday’s slump we dipped a toe in waters south of the zone.
Interestingly, since mid-April the candles have been compressing within a bearish pennant pattern between 106.92/108.07, with Monday observing a bearish close form beneath the pattern’s lower limit. Yesterday’s follow-through downside is a strong sign we could be heading for demand at 105.75/105.17. Traditionally, take-profit targets are formed by measuring the preceding move (109.38-106.92) and adding this value to the breakout point (black arrows).
H1 timeframe:
Heading into Europe Tuesday, sellers strengthened their grip and slid through demand at 106.99/107.16 and the 107 handle, reaching lows at 106.56 before mildly paring losses into the close.
The pair concluded trade a few points ahead of 107, which, along with demand-turned supply at 106.99/107.16, could hold ground and force 106.50 into view.
Structures of Interest:
Daily price recently crossed paths with demand at 105.70/106.66; bulls therefore may look to make a show.
The H4 close out of the current bearish pennant pattern and recent break of demand at 106.75/107.22, however, has potentially cleared downside to H4 demand from 105.75/105.17. As a result of this, active sellers may reside at the underside of 107 on the H1 timeframe, encapsulated by H1 demand-turned supply at 106.99/107.16.