111.00 In Focus

The yen has shed a handful of pips in Asia, USD/JPY last up 2 pips at 110.71. The pair finished with some small net gains on Friday, after recouping losses and more after the greenback went bid after a strong March NFP number. The gain of 916k was the most in seven months and came alongside an upward revision to the February data.

• From a technical perspective USD/JPY is holding onto recent gains and remains bullish. The climb on Mar 26 above 109.36, the Mar 15 high confirmed a resumption of the uptrend and note, 109.56 has been breached, a key retracement - 76.4% of the Mar 2020 - Jan downleg. This sets the scene for a climb towards 111.30 next, Mar 26, 2020 high. Overbought conditions are still not impacting this trend and instead continues to reinforce current sentiment. 108.41 is key support. The recent move higher has put the pair back in the monthly Ichimoku cloud, lower end of the cloud support is at 109.87, while intraday resistance is seen at the Marh 31 high of 110.97.Some chatter that 111.00 holds barrier interest.
• Participants look ahead to Jibun Bank Japan March F PMI Services/Composite at 0130BST/0830HKT, and BoJ Rinban Ops at 0210BST/0910HKT.Widespread holidays in Europe and Asia are expected to keep liquidity thin.