USD/JPY's loss bleeding didn’t stop, and the pair stabilized around the 103.65 support. This was the pair's lowest level since last March, which is when global financial markets collapsed in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.
Donald Trump is still contesting the presidential election and has presented evidence of widespread voter fraud to the courts, while some states such as Georgia conduct hand recounts of the ballots due to "voting irregularities". So far, two members of the Biden-Harris campaign have already been arrested for voter fraud. States have yet to certify their election results, and Joe Biden promised Chris Wallace during the first presidential debate that he would not claim victory until all state's ballots would be certified and the electoral college would meet.
Joe Biden congratulated Nancy Pelosi on her candidacy for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives for another term. Biden said that he "looks forward to working with her and with the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives on a common agenda to control COVID-19 and rebuild our economy better."
The California Democrat was nominated during a virtual meeting by party lawmakers to select their leaders. Pelosi appears to be suggesting that the next two years will be her last in this leadership position. All House members will vote for the Speaker when the new Congress meets in early January. With the Democrats holding the majority, Pelosi does not need Republican votes.
For his part, President-elect Joe Biden said he hopes that Republicans in Congress will be more willing to send money to state and local governments after President Donald Trump leaves office. He promises to make such funding a priority when he takes office in January.
Biden suggested on Wednesday that Republicans resisted Democrats' request for domestic funding as part of the pandemic relief package "because of their fear of the president's retaliation." The Republicans had proposed a $1.8 trillion stimulus bill as early as September, which was rejected by Democrats unless other demands were met.
States are facing massive fiscal deficits as a result of lost tax revenues related to the pandemic that could threaten local health care systems, law enforcement and education.
Generally speaking, Democrats and Republicans in Congress say a new stimulus bill is needed, but they disagree on how much money should go to local governments.
Pfizer said it is already in regular contact with Joe Biden's transition team as part of its ongoing efforts to inform all interested parties about the coronavirus vaccine it developed under Trump's Operation Warp Speed initiative.
The number of coronavirus cases in Japan reached a record number in the figures released Thursday. Tthe Prime Minister urged for more caution, but did not call for restrictions on travel or work. The Ministry of Health has reported 2,179 new cases, the first time that Japan has seen more than 2,000 new cases per day since the start of the pandemic. The previous record for new cases was 1,723 on November 14.
Compared to many other countries, Japan has performed well in its efforts to combat the virus, reporting 122,966 cases and 1,922 deaths since the start of the pandemic. But it has seen a slight spike in cases in recent days, setting record heights nationally and particularly in Tokyo, the largest city in the country.
Technical analysis of the pair:
The general USD/JPY trend is still bearish. The latest move has pushed the technical indicators into oversold areas and, as I mentioned before, it is better to think of buying the pair instead of selling. Accordingly, the support levels at 103.65, 103.20 and 102.75, respectively, will be suitable for doing this. On the upside, there will be no shift in the outlook for the current general trend without the currency pair moving towards resistance levels of 106.00 and 108.00, respectively. Otherwise, the bears will remain in control.
Today, the dollar awaits the jobless claims announcement, a reading of the Philadelphia Manufacturing Index and US existing-home sales data.
