USDJPY Movement
On Friday, the USD weakened 0.13% against the JPY and closed at 97.88, on bets that the Fed might delay its plans to start tapering its stimulus package until March 2014.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, expressed confidence in the central bank’s loose monetary policies and highlighted its positive impact on the Japan economy. He additionally stated that the economy will continue to recover moderately with annual gains in core consumer prices likely rising gradually.
In the Asian session, at GMT0300, the pair is trading at 97.96, with the USD trading 0.08% higher from Friday’s close. Early morning, an official report from Japan, revealed that the nation’s merchandise trade deficit declined to a level of ¥932.1 billion in September, less than market expectation for a decline to ¥920.0 billion, from a deficit of ¥960.3 billion registered in the preceding month. Separately, BoJ’s Chief, Haruhiko Kuroda, reiterated an upbeat assessment of the economy and stated that “Japan’s economy is making steady progress toward achieving the BoJ’s 2% inflation target”.
The pair is expected to find support at 97.63, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 97.31. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 98.20, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 98.44.
Later today, Japan is expected to release a report on its all industry activity index, ahead of a report on its leading economic and coincident index.
The currency pair is trading just above its 20 Hr moving average and is showing convergence with its 50 Hr moving average.
