USD/JPY declines below 109.70 on broad USD weakness
- USD/JPY remains on the back foot in the American session.
- US Dollar Index stays deep in the red below 92.00.
- Rising US Treasury bond yields limit USD/JPY's downside.
After spending the majority of the day moving sideways in a tight range below 110.00, the USD/JPY pair edged lower in the American session and was last seen losing 0.25% on the day at 109.63.
USD struggles to capitalize on rising T-bond yields
The unabated selling pressure surrounding the greenback seems to be forcing USD/JPY to remain on the back foot in the second half of the day. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on Thursday that the US economy grew by an annualized rate of 6.5% (first estimate) in the second quarter. This reading missed the market expectation of 8.5%.
Other data from the US showed that there were 400,000 Initial Jobless Claims in the week ending July 24, compared to analysts' estimate of 380,000, and Pending Home Sales declined by 1.9% in June.
Following the disappointing data releases, the US Dollar Index is down 0.36% on the day at 91.93.
In the meantime, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield is up nearly 3% on the back of risk flows, keeping USD/JPY's downside limited for the time being.
On Friday, June Unemployment Rate and May Retail Trade data will be featured in the Japanese economic docket. Later in the day, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, from the US will be looked upon for fresh impetus.
Technical levels to watch for