USD/JPY Eyes Breakout as Rising Yields Support US Dollar

The US dollar against the Japanese yen is a pair that I watch all the time. I actually have longer-term buy-and-hold positions in this, but I may be adding to this if we can break to a fresh new high somewhere around 160.33.

This is a market that I have no interest in shorting because of the interest rate differential, but there is a little bit of intervention risk here. For myself, I've been long of this pair for months, so this is an addition to what I already have been doing. For short-term trading, it is a viable potential breakout play. I would keep an eye on that 159.8 level, though. A breakdown below that level could signify some type of shift in momentum.

The Australian dollar is a pair that I'm watching closely. If we can break down below the 0.7130 level, I might start shorting for a small move, maybe down to about 0.71, with a stop loss above 0.7160. This is an interest rate play, and the US dollar, of course, is seeing higher rates, while Australia is as well, but it's a different ratio; it's a different amount. The situation still favors the US dollar as far as that is concerned.

The New Zealand dollar , same story. I either sell a break below the 0.5885 level, or I sell a rally that shows signs of exhaustion near the 0.5915 level. I'll be watching this closely. The interest rate differential still favors the US dollar, and I think the real support is probably closer to the 0.5870 level. So maybe a 20-pip move. If we get a little bit of a rally and signs of exhaustion, that might open up more of like a 40-pip move.

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