17 Jan 2014
USD/JPY struggles in trading above JPY104.40 without major drivers
FXstreet.com (London) - USD/JPY has had a mildly bullish session so far, but has struggled above JPY104.40 in the absence of any major drivers.
Building stats hit and miss
US building stats came in either side of consensus, with December building permits undershooting at 0.986m versus expectation of 1.015m. Housing starts in December came in at 0.999m, over the 0.990m expectation.
Industrial production is set for release at 14:15 GMT, with a consensus expectation of 0.3 percent versus last month’s 1.1 percent print.
FOMC expectations
With light data for the pair it is expected that it will continue its broad bullishness on diverging monetary policy expectations ahead of the Fed’s FOMC meeting on 24-25 January. At its last meeting, the Fed moved to cut its monthly asset purchases by USD10bn. Should the Fed continue with its tapering despite the knock-back from poor non-farm payroll jobs numbers on Friday, USD/JPY could challenge the three-and-a-half year highs reached at the beginning of January at JPY105.4415.
USD/JPY is currently trading at JPY104.3150 on choppy trading, down from a session high of JPY104.4750.
Building stats hit and miss
US building stats came in either side of consensus, with December building permits undershooting at 0.986m versus expectation of 1.015m. Housing starts in December came in at 0.999m, over the 0.990m expectation.
Industrial production is set for release at 14:15 GMT, with a consensus expectation of 0.3 percent versus last month’s 1.1 percent print.
FOMC expectations
With light data for the pair it is expected that it will continue its broad bullishness on diverging monetary policy expectations ahead of the Fed’s FOMC meeting on 24-25 January. At its last meeting, the Fed moved to cut its monthly asset purchases by USD10bn. Should the Fed continue with its tapering despite the knock-back from poor non-farm payroll jobs numbers on Friday, USD/JPY could challenge the three-and-a-half year highs reached at the beginning of January at JPY105.4415.
USD/JPY is currently trading at JPY104.3150 on choppy trading, down from a session high of JPY104.4750.