On Friday, the USD marginally rose against the JPY and closed at 104.31, following mixed data from the US.
The industrial production in the US rose for the fifth time in December, while the manufacturing production and capacity utilisation broadly came in above expectations. Furthermore, the housing starts in December came in better than what markets were expecting. However, the building permits and the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index missed expectations’ and registered a decline in December.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 104.11, with the USD trading 0.19% lower from yesterday’s close.
This morning, capacity utilisation in Japan on a monthly basis fell 0.5% in November, compared to a 1.2% increase in the previous month. Additionally, the final industrial production in Japan fell 0.1% (MoM) in November, less compared to a rise of 1.0% recorded in October.
The pair is expected to find support at 103.82, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 103.52. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 104.45, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 104.78.
Amid a lack of major economic news in Japan, yen traders are likely to shift their focus on the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy statement and its interest rate decision on Wednesday.
The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.