For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD strengthened 0.46% against the JPY and closed at 97.02, after the US Federal Reserve stated that if the economy improves as it forecasts, it might consider scaling back its asset purchase programme later this year and end the programme by mid 2014.
Data released in Japan showed that the leading economic index rose to a reading of 99.0 in April, below the preliminary estimate of a level of 99.3. Additionally, the coincident index advanced to a reading of 95.3 in April from a revised reading of 94.6 recorded in the previous month.
In the Asian session, at GMT0300, the pair is trading at 97.30, with the USD trading 0.29% higher from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 96.48, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 95.66. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 98.23, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 99.16.
The Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda speech is scheduled later in the day wherein market participants would look for hints regarding the central bank’s stance over its monetary policies.
The currency pair is trading between its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.