USD/JPY consolidates overnight gains to over 2-week tops, above mid-108.00s

• Upbeat US macro data further dampened prospects of a 50 bps rate cut by the Fed.
• Surging US bond yields prompted some aggressive short-covering move on Thursday.
• Traders now seemed reluctant to place bets ahead of the advanced US Q2 GDP print.

The USD/JPY pair was seen oscillating in a narrow trading band above mid-108.00s and consolidated the overnight goodish move to over two-week tops.

Having defended the 108.00 handle, the pair picked up the pace since the early North-American session on Thursday in tandem with a strong upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields following the release of upbeat US durable goods orders data. 

The data reaffirmed market expectations that the Fed is unlikely to deliver a 50 bps rate cut at its upcoming policy meeting on July 30-31, which helped the US Dollar to reverse its post-ECB dip and prompted some aggressive short-covering move around the major.

With the greenback standing tall near multi-week tops, a mildly positive mood around equity markets undermined the Japanese Yen's safe-haven demand and continued lending some support to the major, albeit failed to provide any meaningful impetus.

Investors now seemed reluctant to place any fresh bets and preferred to wait on the sidelines ahead of important US macro data - the first estimate of the annualized US GDP for the second quarter of 2019, due later during the early North-American session. 

Technical levels to watch