USDJPY Movement
On Friday, the USD weakened 0.16% against the JPY and closed at 118.71.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 118.73, with the USD trading a tad higher from Friday’s close.
Overnight data indicated that Japan’s Tankan large manufacturing outlook index recorded a drop to 9.0 in 4Q 2014, compared to a reading of 13.0 recorded in the prior quarter, while markets were expecting the index to remain steady. Meanwhile, the nation’s Tankan large manufacturing index unexpectedly narrowed to a level of 12.0 in 4Q 2014, compared to a level of 13.0 in the previous quarter.
Over the weekend, the Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition won a landslide victory in lower house elections held on 14 December 2014. Abe’s ruling coalition, consisting of LDP and Komeito secured two-thirds majority in Parliament’s Lower House, winning 326 of 475 seats.
The pair is expected to find support at 117.97, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 117.21. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 119.29, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 119.86.
The currency pair is trading just above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.
