Hits new year-to-date high on risk improvement

• EUR/JPY reaches a new YTD high of 159.77, trading at 159.53 after a daily low of 158.50.
• A daily close above 159.77 could open the path to challenging the 160.00 mark.
• If sellers push the rate below 159.00, the first demand zone at Tenkan-Sen at 158.38 and the top of the Kumo at 157.90.

EUR/JPY rose to a new year-to-date (YTD) high of 159.77, though it has trimmed some of its earlier gains, but remains underpinned by an improvement in risk appetite and prints gains of around 0.50% at the time of writing. The cross-pair exchanges hands at 159.53 after hitting a daily low of 158.50.

The daily chart portrays the pair as upward biased after hitting a new YTD high, with the cross remaining above the Ichimoku Cloud (Kumo). Nevertheless, a daily close above 159.77 could pave the way for a challenging 160.00 mark before testing the 2008 high of around 169.97.

On the flip side, if sellers drag the exchange rate below the 159.00 figure, that could open the door to test the top of the Kumo. But firstly, sellers must break the first demand zone at the Tenkan-Sen level at 158.38, followed by 158.00, and then the top of the Kumo at 157.90. Once those levels are broken, the next support emerges at the Kijun-Sen at 157.06.

EUR/JPY Price Action – Daily chart

EUR/JPY Technical Levels