For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD rose 0.35% against the JPY and closed at 110.93.
On the macro front, data showed that Japan’s retail trade climbed 0.6% on a yearly basis in January, compared to a rise of 1.3% in the previous month. Market participants had expected the retail trade to register a gain of 1.4%. Meanwhile the nation’s preliminary industrial production declined 3.7% on a monthly basis in January, falling at its fastest pace in a year and more than market anticipations for a fall of 2.5%. In the prior month, industrial production had recorded a drop of 0.1%. Additionally, Japan’s large retailers’ sales dropped 3.3% in January, surpassing market consensus for a fall of 1.8%. In the preceding month, large retailers’ sales had eased 1.0%.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 110.89, with the USD trading a tad lower against the JPY from yesterday’s close.
Overnight data showed that housing starts rose 1.1% on a yearly basis in January, falling short of market expectations for a surge of 10.3%. In the previous month, housing starts had recorded a gain of 2.1%. Moreover, the nation’s construction orders advanced 19.8% on an annual basis in January, following a drop of 3.7% in the preceding month.
The pair is expected to find support at 110.48, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 110.06. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 111.19, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 111.48.
Going forward, investors would closely monitor Japan’s jobless rate for January and the Nikkei manufacturing PMI for February, slated to release overnight.
The currency pair is trading above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.
