USD/JPY BEARS POUNCE IN THE OPÈN AND TAKE OUT 131.00

USD/JPY is down on the day so far losing some 0.2% and printing a low of 130.99 from 131.33 the high in a firm sell-off in the Asian morning.  The underlying trend for the US Dollar remained tilted to the downside mid week although traders have started to pare back shorts across the board, as per DXY, into the long weekend and US Nonfarm Payrolls showdown.

Meanwhile, data on Wednesday supported the view that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise rates much further. The ADP National Employment report showed US private employers hired fewer workers than expected in March, suggesting a cooling labor market. Private employment increased by 145,000 jobs last month, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment increasing by 200,000, Reuters reported. Additionally, the ISM's Non-Manufacturing index dropped to 51.2 in March from 55.1 in February. The services sector's employment indicator slid as well to 45.8 from 47.6 in February.