EUR/JPY sticks to gains near 1-month tops, around 121.00 mark ahead of Lagarde

• EUR/JPY moves little after ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday.
• The focus remains on updated staff projections and Lagarde's comments.
• Reviving safe-haven demand benefits the JPY and might cap strong gains.

The EUR/JPY cross held on to its mildly positive tone around the 121.00 handle, or one-month tops, and had a rather muted reaction to the latest ECB monetary policy update.

The European Central Bank, as was widely expected, left its key interest rates unchanged and reiterated that rates will remain at present or lower levels until inflation outlook robustly converges to a level sufficiently close to, but below 2%.

In absence of any major shift in the policy stance, the announcement did little to influence the shared currency or provide any meaningful impetus to the cross. Investors now look forward to the latest staff projections for a fresh impetus.

This will be followed by Christine Lagarde's first press conference as the ECB President, which should further play its part in driving the sentiment surrounding the common currency and help determine the pair's near-term trajectory.

Meanwhile, a turnaround in the global risk sentiment, amid persistent trade uncertainty, might continue to underpin the Japanese yen's safe-haven demand and further collaborated towards capping any strong gains for the cross.

Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some strong follow-through buying, possibly beyond the very important 200-day SMA barrier near the 121.35-40 region, before positioning for any further near-term appreciating move.

Technical levels to watch