USDJPY Movement
For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD strengthened 0.76% against the JPY and closed at 118.36, following upbeat initial jobless claims data in the UK.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 118.08, with the USD trading 0.23% lower from yesterday’s close.
Overnight data showed that Japan’s national CPI surprisingly edged up to 2.4% on a YoY basis in December, beating market forecasts for a 2.3% rise and following a 2.4% rise recorded in November. Additionally, jobless rate in the nation unexpectedly eased to 3.4% in December, lower than market expectations to remain unchanged at 3.5%. Meanwhile, industrial production in Japan rebounded 0.3% on an annual basis in December, in line with market expectations. It had plunged 3.7% in preceding month.
Data just released indicated that housing starts in Japan eased 14.7% on an annual basis in December, lower than market expectations for a fall of 14.8%. It had recorded a drop of 14.3% in the previous month, while construction orders advanced 7.5% on a YoY basis in December, following a rise of 16.9% registered in the previous month.
The pair is expected to find support at 117.61, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 117.14. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 118.53, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 118.97.
Going forward, investors would monitor Nomura/JMMA manufacturing PMI data, scheduled in the early hours on Monday.
The currency pair is trading just below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.
