USD/JPY holds above 107.00 despite plunging US stocks
- USD/JPY erased majority of daily losses during American session.
- US Dollar Index clings to modest gains around 97.50.
- Wall Street's main indexes suffer heavy losses on Friday.
The USD/JPY pair dropped to a daily low of 106.80 but staged a rebound during the American trading hours. As of writing, the pair was virtually unchanged on a daily basis at 107.15.
The data from the US on Friday revealed that Personal Spending rose by 8.2% in May. On a negative note, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that Personal Income declined by 4.2% in the same period. Finally, the core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, stayed unchanged at 1% on a yearly basis.
USD capitalizes on risk-aversion amid coronavirus concerns
However, investors ignored these data and remained focused on coronavirus figures. The number of confirmed cases in Florida and Arizona increased by 8,942 and 3,428, respectively. Additionally, Texas governor announced that they will be closing bars and limiting restaurants' occupancy to 50% in response to surging COVID-19 numbers in the state.
With risk-off flows on coronavirus fears dominating the financial markets on Friday, Wall Street's main indexes opened deep in the negative territory and the greenback continued to gather strength against its rivals. At the moment, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both losing around 1.7% on the day.
The US Dollar Index, which spent the majority of the day in the negative territory below 97.40, gained traction and advanced to a five-day high of 97.68.
Nevertheless, the JPY's safe-haven status helped it to stay resilient against the greenback and made it difficult for the pair to move into the positive territory.
Technical levels to watch for