USDJPY Movement
For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD strengthened 0.12% against the JPY and closed at 104.84, after news that the US private sector added 238,000 workers in December, the most since January 2012, defying analysts’ projections of a 200,000 rise.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar continued its upward trend, after the Fed’s December policy meeting revealed that majority of the policymakers jointly agreed that the benefits of its massive bond buying programme were gradually declining, due to which a consensus was reached on the decision of eventually tapering its asset-purchase program by $10 billion to $75 billion per month starting in January. Additionally, officials seemed more confident about a continued improvement in the domestic labour market. Furthermore, the FOMC voting members decided that future reductions “would be undertaken in measured steps.”
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 104.83, with the USD trading tad lower from yesterday’s close.
This morning, Miki Shoji reported that average office vacancies in Tokyo rose 7.34% in December, slower compared to a 7.52% increase recorded in the previous month.
The pair is expected to find support at 104.62, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 104.40. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 105.09, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 105.34.
Trading trends in the pair today are expected to be determined by jobless claims data from the US. Additionally, later tomorrow the Bank of Japan (BoJ)’s monthly economic survey would present the latest economic developments in the nation.
The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr moving average and is trading above its 50 Hr moving average.
