AUD/JPY struggles to find acceptance above 101.00, surrenders intraday gains to one-week top

• AUD/JPY climbs to over a one-week low, albeit struggles to capitalize on the move. 
• The BoJ rate hike uncertainty, the risk-on mood weigh on the JPY and lend support.
• The RBA’s hawkish stance and the optimism over Chinese recovery benefit the AUD.

The AUD/JPY cross attracts follow-through buying for the second successive day on Wednesday and climbs to over a one-week high during the Asian session. Spot prices, however, struggle to build on the momentum beyond the 101.00 round figure and retreat to the lower end of the daily range, closer to a technically significant 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) in the last hour.

The Japanese Yen (JPY) continues with its relative underperformance in the wake of expectations that Japan's political landscape could make it difficult for the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to hike interest rates further. Apart from this, the risk-on impulse, triggered by the US election results indicating an early lead for former President Donald Trump, weighs heavily on the safe-haven JPY and provides an intraday boost to the AUD/JPY cross.

Meanwhile, Chinese PMIs released recently suggested that the big government stimulus push to bring growth back on track is helping improve business conditions. This, along with the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) hawkish stance, offered additional support to the AUD/JPY cross. That said, BoJ meeting minutes left the door open for further policy tightening and cap any further appreciating move for the currency pair. 

From a technical perspective, the recent range-bound price action witnessed over the past month or so points to indecision among traders over the next leg of a directional move. This, along with the aforementioned mixed fundamental backdrop, makes it prudent to wait for strong follow-through buying before positioning for the resumption of the AUD/JPY pair's strong move-up from the September monthly swing low.