Despite The ECB's Hawkish Wagers, The EUR/JPY Exchange Rate Falls To Around 144.00

Following a brief retracement to 144.50 during the Asian session, the EUR/JPY pair has dropped precipitously to near 144.00. The cross displayed a significant bullish reaction to the news that OPEC+ had unexpectedly reduced oil production early in the Asian session. Nevertheless, the preliminary action has temporarily ceased.

Following a precipitous rise in the price of crude oil, the Japanese Yen came under intense pressure as one of the world's leading oil importers.

In the Eurozone, preliminary Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) (March) data kept the Euro active. The headline HICP decreased to 6.9% from 7.1% and 8.5% in the prior report and the consensus, respectively. As anticipated, the monthly figure increased from 0.8% in February to 0.9% in March. In addition, the core monthly HICP figure increased from 0.6% to 1.2%, exceeding expectations.

It is anticipated that an unanticipated increase in Eurozone inflation will force the European Central Bank (ECB) to proclaim higher interest rates to combat the persistent inflation.

On a four-hour time frame, EUR/JPY has fallen abruptly after confronting formidable barriers near the horizontal resistance drawn from the high of 145.47 on February 28. Following a strong uptrend, the cross has experienced a retracement that is likely to result in a move toward the 20-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near 143.85.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) (14) has dropped into the 40.00-60.00 range, indicating a loss of upside momentum, but the upside bias remains intact.

A break above the intraday high of 144.58 would propel the asset towards the 31 March high of 145.67, followed by the 16 December high of 146.72.

A decline below the March 30 low of 143.13, on the other hand, would push the cross toward the March 14 low of 142.53 and the March 13 low of 141.57.