USD/JPY stapled to 109.00, unable to find momentum in either direction

• USD/JPY recovers on the day to resume trading flat.
• Little on the schedule for today leaves traders unwilling to dedicate to positions ahead of a heavy Thursday showing.

The USD/JPY is rebounding in the late Asia session, recovering from a slip into 108.85 on a small giveback in the US Dollar action which has been decidedly Dollar-positive lately, but the pair has rebounded to trade back into the 109.00 handle ahead of the European session.

USD/JPY: Expect further sideways trade near 109.00 ahead of US CPI

This week is a case of hurry up and wait; traders are awaiting the US CPI figures on Thursday, and there is little else on the economic calendar for most major currencies until then to give markets anything else to think about. Markets are still also focused on the US-China trade negotiations, which have so far yielded little results, and traders are increasingly aware that the clock is ticking thanks to the US' self-imposed deadlines on when the next round of tariffs will come into effect.

US CPI figures are expected to contract slightly from 2.1% to 1.9%, but the US' strong economic figures (with some caveats from last Friday's softer-than-expected jobs report) have traders awaiting the Fed to lift their expected three total rate increases for 2018 to four.

USD/JPY analysis: waiting for fresh clues around 109.00

USD/JPY levels to watch

Indecision has marked the pair for the week, and as FXStreet's own Valeria Bednarik pointed out, long and short traders seem to be unwilling to operate at the current levels without new information: "the pair extends its consolidative phase after topping at 110.00 last week, still struggling for direction. The previous bullish trend that drove the price up to that level is still in place, given that in the 4 hours chart, the pair keeps developing above a daily ascendant trend line coming from early April and also above a bullish 100 SMA, both in the 108.50 region. In the same chart, the Momentum indicator aims to cross its mid-line into positive territory, but the RSI indicator already resumed its decline, now around 45, leaving a mixed picture that indicates that nor bulls neither bears are willing to act at the time being."

Support levels: 108.95 108.50 108.00

Resistance levels: 109.35 109.60 110.00