For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD strengthened 0.50% against the JPY and closed at 87.72, after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting suggested the Fed’s asset purchases may likely end this year.
Further, the USD added to gains after the Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) reported that private sector employment in the US rose by 215,000 jobs in December, following an upwardly revised increase of 148,000 jobs recorded in November.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 87.74, with the USD trading steady from yesterday’s close.
The Yen is trading lower ahead of the Bank of Japan Deputy Governor, Kiyohiko Nishimura speech later today.
The pair is expected to find support at 87.06, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 86.38. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 88.12, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 88.51.
The currency pair is trading above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.