USD/JPY Still Sub Y116.00

USD/JPY last prints a handful of pips higher on the day, sitting at Y115.88. This comes after the cross failed to make any real headway above its Asia-Pac high on Wednesday, peaking at Y115.94 during European trade. The cross then backed away from best levels but remained underpinned on the bid in equity markets & offer in U.S Tsys as some optimism re: the potential for a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict seeped into markets (at least when assessing the general undertone of comments from the Ukrainian leadership).

• A reminder that meaningful resistance is located at the Feb 10 high/Jan 4 high & bull trigger (Y116.34). To the downside, initial support comes in at the Feb 24 low (Y114.41).
• PPI data provides the highlight of the Japanese docket on Thursday, but shouldn’t be a market mover, leaving the wider swings in risk appetite at the fore, as is the norm for the JPY.
• The Y115.30-40 area provides the most notable round of interest when it comes to nearby option expiries at today’s 10AM NY cut, with $1.5bn of options with strikes in that zone set to roll off.