USD/JPY fell to fresh 2-week lows as the dollar weakened, although modestly, following the release of worse-than-expected US employment data.
US nonfarm payrolls showed the economy added only 151,000 new jobs in January, below the 190,000 expected and down from a revised 262,000 gain in December. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged down to 4.9%, hitting levels below 5% for first time since 2008.
USD/JPY initially moved lower to 116.28, from 116.65 before data, before bouncing briefly above 117.00. At time of writing, the pair was trading at 116.40, 0.29% below its opening price.
USD/JPY technical levels
As for technical levels, next supports are seen at 115.96 (Jan 20 low), 115.84 (Jan 16 2015 low) and 115.55 (Dec 16 2014 low). On the other hand, immediate resistances could be faced at 118.19 (20-day SMA), 118.74 (10-day SMA), 120.00/03 (50-day SMA/psychological level/Feb 3 high) and 120.50 (100-day SMA).
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)