USDJPY Movement
For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD strengthened 0.68% against the JPY and closed at 103.06 following a higher than expected fall in US initial jobless claims and after several Fed officials hinted at continuation of the tapering path.
Yesterday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Deputy Governor, Kikuo Iwata reiterated his earlier comments that the central bank would not hesitate to alter its policies if its sees risks to its 2% inflation target. Furthermore, he opined that a planned sales-tax hike in April would not hamper Japan’s moderate recovery.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 102.93, with the USD trading 0.13% lower from yesterday’s close. Early morning, Japan’s Ministry of Finance reported that foreign reserves in the nation stood at $1,288.2 billion in February, compared to a level of $1,277.1 billion registered in the previous month. Another report showed that the preliminary reading of Japan’s leading economic index rose less-than-expected to a level of 112.2 in January while Japan’s coincident index’s preliminary reading rose more than market estimates to a figure of 114.8 in January.
The pair is expected to find support at 102.63, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 102.32. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 103.21, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 103.48.
The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr moving average and is trading above its 50 Hr moving average.
