USD/JPY attempting a fresh move towards 118.00 handle

The greenback continued strengthening across the board, with the USD/JPY pair accelerating the upward trajectory to hit a fresh session peak.

Currently trading around 117.75-80 band, the pair initially struggled to gain traction in wake of mixed Japanese economic data (industrial production and retail sales) and mild greenback retracement. As the day progressed, resurgent US Dollar strength helped the pair to defend 117.50 immediate support and dart back towards 118.00 handle. 

The ongoing recovery in European equity market also seems to be weighing on the Japanese Yen's safe-haven appeal and contributing to the pair's strong up-move in the past hour. 

Traders now look forward to the release of US pending home sales data for short-term trading opportunities amid holiday-thinned subdued trading activity in financial markets.

Technical levels to watch

From current levels, immediate resistance is pegged near 118.00 handle above which the pair is likely to make an attempt to surpass 118.20-25 resistance area and head towards testing multi-month highs resistance near 118.65 level. On the downside, 117.50 now seems to have emerged as immediate strong support, which if broken is likely to accelerate the slide towards 117.00 round figure mark (yesterday's low), en-route 116.55-50 support zone.