USD/JPY edges lower toward 105.00 after US data

• USD/JPY trades in the negative territory on Thursday.
• Weekly Jobless Claims in US fell more than expected last week.
• Slumping US Treasury bond yields weigh on USD/JPY.

The USD/JPY edged higher toward mid-105s on Thursday but lost its traction in the early American session. As of writing, the pair was down 0.2% on the day at 105.20.

Falling US T-bond yields drag USD/JPY

The data from the US showed on Thursday that the Initial Jobless Claims declined by 48,000 to 709,000 last week and came in much better than the market expectation of 735,000. Moreover, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) in October declined to 1.6% in October and missed analysts' estimate of 1.8%.

Nevertheless, the market reaction to these data remained largely muted and the JPY capitalized on falling US Treasury bond yields. Following the impressive rally witnessed earlier in the week, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield is down nearly 7% on Thursday, helping the safe-haven JPY outperform its rivals.

On the other hand, the US Dollar Index pared its daily losses and turned flat near 93.00 in the last hour, limiting USD/JPY's upside for the time being. 

Later in the session, FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell will be speaking at the European Central Bank (ECB) Forum on Central Banking.

Technical levels to watch for