USD/JPY falls back towards 150.50, pares away mid-week gains

• The USD/JPY has slipped back into the 150.50 region.
• The pair couldn't hold onto gains above the 151.00 handle.
• US data sours market sentiment mood on Thursday.

The USD/JPY slipped to a Thursday low of 150.30 after a batch of bad US data soured risk appetite. The pair slipped from the 151.40 region as the USD/JPY whipsaws through the trading week.

US Initial Jobless Claims for the week into November 10th missed the mark, showing nearly a two-year high of 231 thousand new unemployment benefit seekers versus the expected 220 thousand. The previous week showed 218 thousand new jobless claimants, and investors have rotated their perspective to now be concerned about the state of the US economy.

United States Industrial Production (MoM) falls 0.6% in October

US Industrial Production for October also declined past expectations, printing at -0.6% compared to the forecast -0.1%. US capacity fell from September's 0.1% soft reading, which was revised downwards from 0.3%.

The trading week will round out with Friday's US Building Permit and Housing Starts figures, where investors will be looking to take a pulse reading of the US economy.

USD/JPY Technical Outlook

The USD/JPY is churning near the extreme top-end of long-term trading, cycling the 151.00 level. The pair remains extremely well-bid, and the pair looks set for another fresh run at multi-decade highs above 152.00.

Medium-term support is coming from the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) rising into 149.50, and the USD/JPY's long-term bull run has seen price action pull well away from the long-run 200-day SMA near 141.25.

USD/JPY Daily Chart

USD/JPY Technical Levels