Yen is on the front foot in early...............>

YEN: Yen is on the front foot in early Asia-Pacific trade as the risk off tone

spills over from Thursday's US session. McMaster has stepped down from the US

administration (in a heavily telegraphed moved) and has been replaced by John

Bolton, he is expected to have a harder line on matters in Iran etc. China has

announced reciprocal tariffs on US steel & Aluminium, but this was largely

expected so JPY hasn't reacted to the news.

- USDJPY last trades at 104.85, back from lows of 104.64, EURJPY trades at

129.20, while AUDJPY sits at 80.70. YtD lows have given way, with little in

terms of notable support from a technical perspective. Some are looking to the

monthly low from Nov 2016 at 101.15.

- EURJPY's upside rejection of the 200-DMA (131.84) has led to various support

levels folding, resulting in a brief look below 1.2900 in early Asia trade on

the back of the broader risk off flow.

- AUDJPY has breached the YtD low, with the next notable level of support seen

at 80.24, the Nov 11 2016 low. Layers of resistance accumulating add weight to

the bearish case with bulls continuing to look for a close above 82.70.