USD/JPY finds support above 109, moves sideways ahead of US data

• 10-year US Treasury bond yield rebounds on Monday.
• US Dollar Index stays below 97 ahead of mid-tier data.
• Wall Street looks to open in positive territory.

The USD/JPY pair spent the previous week in a tight 40-pip range and closed flat at 109.42 as the upbeat market mood made it difficult for the pair to capitalize on the broad USD weakness. Although the pair inched lower at the start of the new week to touch a fresh two-week low of 109.07, it started to retrace its drop and was last seen trading at 109.17, down 0.2% on the day.

Mixed sentiment limits JPY's gains

Tokyo's Nikkei Average erased 0.75% on Monday to help the safe-haven JPY gather strength against the USD. Major European equity indexes also turned south but a more-than-1% increase seen in the 10-year US Treasury bond yield made it difficult for the JPY to continue to capitalize on risk-off flows. Additionally, the S&P 500 futures were last up 0.17% on the day to suggest that Wall Street's main indexes are likely to open in the positive territory.

On the other hand, the bearish pressure surrounding the greenback toward the year-end seems to be staying intact to make it difficult for the pair to extend its rebound. At the moment, the US Dollar Index is down 0.15% on the day at 96.88. 

Later in the session, Goods Trade Balance, Pending Home Sales and Fallas Fed Manufacturing Index data from the US will be watched upon for fresh catalysts but the market reaction is likely to be muted.

Technical levels to watch for