The USD/JPY pair is correcting in an uptrend at 157.26 amid poor Japanese macroeconomic statistics.

In the first sessions of the new year, the USD/JPY pair is fixed in a narrow range of 157.00–156.25. Investors are waiting for further signals about the next steps of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan in the area of monetary policy, and for now, the basic forecasts remain: the Japanese agency will likely continue its course of tightening parameters, and the US one will cut interest rates, with a possible pause in January.

The price is in correction, the probability of the fall is maintained.

On the daily chart, the first wave of a higher level (1) of 5 is being formed, which includes the third wave of a lower level 3 of (1), while on the four-hour time interval, wave iii of 3 has already appeared and a local correction is developing as wave iv of 3, and wave (c) of iv is also being built. If the assumption is correct, the downward dynamics of the USD/JPY pair will intensify in the area of 153.18–151.75, and the critical stop-loss level for this scenario will be 157.37.

The USD/JPY pair is trading near the 156.92 resistance level and last month's highs amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve will maintain its monetary policy parameters at its meeting on January 29, as well as the escalation of the geopolitical situation in Venezuela.

The US dollar is showing modest gains in the USD/JPY pair, testing the 156.60 level for an upside breakout as investors lock in profits ahead of the New Year holiday trading break.

On the four-hour chart, candlestick and graphical patterns give conflicting signals. Thus, it is possible to identify the construction of a large graphical figure Bear Pennant, the exit of the price from which is expected to be downwards at the level of 156.13, and the potential target is located at the level of 153.79 and below.