USD/JPY – Listless as US Markets Off For Holiday

The Japanese yen is almost unchanged on Monday, as USD/JPY trades in the mid-118 range. On the release front, it’s a very quiet start to the week. The sole Japanese release, Revised Industrial Production, posted a strong gain of 0.8%. There are no US releases on Monday, as the markets are off for Presidents Day.

Japanese manufacturing data started the week on a positive note, as Revised Industrial Production gained 0.8%, bouncing back from a decline in the previous release. This was within expectations, as the estimate was 1.0%. Last week, Japanese Core Machinery Tools jumped 8.3% in December, its strongest gain since March. This easily beat the estimate of 2.4%.

US releases wrapped up a disappointing week on a sour note, as the UoM Consumer Sentiment slipped for the first time in five months. The key indicator dropped to 93.6 points, down sharply from 98.2 in the previous report. On Thursday, retail sales and jobless numbers softened. Core Retail Sales declined by 0.9%, while Retail Sales dropped by 0.8%. Both indicators were well off their estimates of -0.4%. There was no relief from unemployment claims, which jumped to 304 thousand, compared to 284 thousand in the previous reading. The markets had expected a stronger reading of 282 thousand.

USD/JPY for Monday, February 16, 2015

USD/JPY February 16 at 13:40 GMT

USD/JPY 118.56 H: 118.77 L: 118.37

 

USD/JPY Technical

S3 S2 S1 R1 R2 R3
115.56 116.69 117.49 118.69 119.83 120.63

 

  • USD/JPY has showed little movement during the day, as the pair trades close to resistance at 118.69.
  • On the upside, 118.56 is under strong pressure. 119.83 is stronger.
  • 117.49 is providing strong support.
  • Current range: 117.49 to 118.69

Further levels in both directions:

  • Below: 117.49, 116.69, 115.56 and 113.83
  • Above: 118.69, 119.83, 120.63, 121.69 and 122.19

 

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/JPY ratio is almost unchanged on Monday. This is consistent with the lack of movement we are seeing from the pair. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the US dollar moving to higher ground.

USD/JPY Fundamentals

  • 4:30 Japanese Revised Industrial Production. Estimate 1.0%. Actual 0.8%.

*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.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.