USD/JPY – Dollar Under Pressure as Yen at 107

The Japanese yen is steady on Tuesday, as USD/JPY is trading at the 107 line in the European session. The yen has rebounded strongly in the past week, gaining almost 300 points against the US dollar. On the release front, Tuesday is a very quiet, with no Japanese releases and just one US event, NFIB Small Business Index. Late Monday, Japanese M2 Money Stock and PPI both met expectations.

The US dollar has cooled down after last week’s FOMC minutes were unexpectedly dovish. In the minutes, the Fed poured some cold water on rising expectations of a rate hike, as a number of policymakers said that the Federal Reserve should take a more data-dependent approach regarding a rate hike. The Fed also voiced concern about the rising strength of the US dollar which could weigh on the recovery. On the weekend, FOMC member Stanley Fischer said that the Fed could slow tightening if global growth is weaker than expected.

US Unemployment Claims were unchanged last week, coming in at 287 thousand. This beat the estimate of 291 thousand. The indicator has now exceeded the forecast for four straight readings. Earlier in the week, JOLTS Job Openings climbed to 4.84 million, up from 4.67 million a month earlier. These numbers followed an excellent Nonfarm Payrolls report, as the US labor market continues to improve. With QE slated to end later this month, the focus will shift to the timetable for an interest rake hike.

USD/JPY for Tuesday, October 14, 2014

USD/JPY October 14 at 13:10 GMT

USD/JPY 107.04 H: 107.31 L: 106.67

USD/JPY Technical

• USD/JPY has been marked by choppy trading in the Asian and European sessions.
• On the downside, 106.85 was breached earlier in the European session and is under strong pressure. 105.44 is stronger.
• 107.68 is an immediate resistance line. 108.58 is next.
• Current range: 106.85 to 107.68

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 106.85, 105.44, 104.68 and 103.19
• Above: 107.68, 108.58, 109.82, 110.68 and 112.48

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/JPY ratio has a slight majority of short positions, indicative of trader bias towards the yen resuming its rally against the dollar.

USD/JPY Fundamentals

• 11:30 US NFIB Small Business Index. Estimate 97.2 points. Actual 95.3 points.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.