USDJPY Movement
For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, USD weakened 0.26% against the JPY and closed at 79.61.
Standard and Poor’s has reaffirmed Japan’s sovereign-debt rating at “AA-” while maintaining a ‘Negative’ outlook and warned that a downgrade is likely if medium-term growth prospects weaken. S&P also maintained the short-term rating at “A1+”.
Data released in Japan showed that the Leading Index was revised lower to 94.0 in December, while the Coincident Index was revised higher to 93.6 in December.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor, Masaaki Shirakawa stated that the central bank would continue powerful monetary easing until 1.0% inflation is foreseen.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 79.69, with the USD trading 0.09% higher from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 79.43, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 79.17. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 79.88, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 80.07.
The currency pair is trading just above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.
