USD/JPY Technical Analysis: Bulls struggle near 100-hour SMA, around mid-109.00s

• USD/JPY continued with its struggled to make it through 109.70-75 resistance.
• Any meaningful slide might continue to attract some dip-buying near 200-DMA.

The USD/JPY pair edged lower during the mid-European session on Thursday and refreshed daily lows, around mid-109.00s in the last hour, albeit remained well within a familiar trading range.

The mentioned region coincides with 100-hour SMA, which if broken might be seen as a key trigger for intraday bearish traders and prompt some technical selling, paving the way for a further slide.

Given the pair's repeated failure near the 109.70-75 region, multi-month tops set earlier this December, some follow-through selling will set the stage for a move towards testing sub-109.00 levels.

Failure to defend the said support, marking the very important 200-day SMA, might turn the pair vulnerable to accelerate the slide further towards the next support near the 108.50-45 horizontal zone.

Meanwhile, technical indicators on the 1-hourly chart have moved into bearish territory and support prospects for further downside, albeit bullish oscillators on 4-hourly/daily charts, warrant caution.

On the flip side, bulls are likely to wait for a sustained move beyond the 109.70-75 supply zone, above which the pair is likely to aim towards surpassing the key 110.00 psychological mark.

The momentum could further get extended, lifting the pair towards challenging a short-term ascending trend-line resistance, extending from early August, currently near the 110.30 region.

USD/JPY 1-hourly chart