The Japanese yen has ticked lower in the Thursday session. In North American trade, USD/JPY is trading at 111.40. On the release front, U.S. Final GDP posted a gain of 2.1%, edging above the estimate of 2.0%. Unemployment claims jumped to 258 thousand, above the forecast of 244 thousand.
Later in the day, Japan releases Household Spending and Tokyo Core CPI. The markets are braced for declines from both indicators. On Friday, the U.S. releases UoM Consumer Sentiment, which is expected to improve to 97.8 points.
The markets are likely to be treated to “more of the same” from the Bank of Japan as far as monetary policy. Earlier in the week, the BoJ released a summary of the minutes of its policy meeting from March 16. There were no surprises, as policymakers said the BoJ’s ultra-easy monetary stance would continue as long as inflation remains well below the target of 2 percent. Japan’s economy has improved in recent months, boosted by a stronger manufacturing sector and an increase in exports. At the same time, domestic demand remains soft, which has resulted in weak inflation levels. Japan will release key consumer spending and inflation numbers on Thursday, and soft readings could hurt the Japanese yen.
USD/JPY Fundamentals
Thursday (March 30)
- 8:30 US Final GDP. Estimate 2.0%. Actual 2.1%
- 8:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 244K. Actual 258K
- 8:30 US Final GDP Price Index. Estimate 2.0%. Actual 2.1%
- 10:30 US Natural Gas Storage. Estimate -37B
- 11:00 US FOMC Member Robert Kaplan Speech
- 19:30 Japanese Household Spending. Estimate -1.6%
- 19:30 Japanese National Core. Estimate 0.2%
- 19:30 Japanese Tokyo Core CPI. Estimate -0.2%
- 19:30 Japanese Unemployment Rate. Estimate 3.0%
- 19:50 Japanese Preliminary Industrial Production. Estimate 1.3%
Upcoming Key Events
Friday (March 31)
- 10:00 US Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment. Estimate 97.8
*All release times are GMT
*Key events are in bold
USD/JPY for Thursday, March 30, 2017
USD/JPY March 28 at 8:50 EST
Open: 111.15 High: 111.42 Low: 110.92 Close: 111.38
USD/JPY Technical
S3 | S2 | S1 | R1 | R2 | R3 |
108.54 | 109.77 | 110.94 | 112.57 | 113.80 | 114.83 |
USD/JPY showed limited movement in the Asian session and has posted slight gains in European trade. The pair continues to edge higher in North American trade
- 110.94 remains fluid. Currently it is a weak support line
- 112.57 is the next resistance line
- Current range: 110.94 to 112.57
Further levels in both directions:
- Below: 110.94, 109.77, 108.54 and 107.49
- Above: 112.57, 113.80 and 114.83
OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio
USD/JPY ratio is showing little movement in the Thursday session. Currently, long positions have a majority (65%), indicative of trader bias towards USD/JPY continuing to move upwards.