The moves point to a further relaxing to the carry trade unwind as risk sentiment is keeping steadier. USD/JPY in particular is up 0.5% to 147.30 levels now but is keeping just near the topside of the recent bounce from last week:

It’s not much of a suggestion that we are due a stronger retracement after the sharp fall in July. But buyers are trying to wrestle back some near-term momentum at least. The slow grind higher on the session now sees price move back above its 200-hour moving average of 147.18. It is the first time in four weeks that price action is trading above the key near-term level.

So, that will be one to watch in trying to gauge sentiment in the pair over the next few sessions.

Besides that, USD/CHF is up 0.3% to 0.8680 and also pushing past the same key near-term level as per USD/JPY.

That suggests buyers are back in near-term control but it is still early days. That especially as market players are also going to be watching key US data in the days ahead for more clues.

The euro, sterling, and loonie are all little changed otherwise in the major currencies space. However, the aussie and kiwi are posting slight gains with AUD/USD up 0.4% to near 0.6600 and NZD/USD up 0.5% to 0.6025 currently.

In other markets, S&P 500 futures are up 0.1% while European indices have seen their early gains turn into marginal ones now. So, it’s not that straightforward to kick things off in the new week.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.