USD/JPY – Yen Steady at Start of Week

The Japanese yen has stabilized on Monday after sharp losses on Friday. In the European session, USD/JPY is trading in the mid-118 range. In Japan, Current Account improved to JPY 0.98 trillion. Consumer Confidence and Economy Watchers Sentiment both were up slightly in the January reports. Later in the day, we’ll get a look at Japanese Tertiary Activity. In the US, it’s a quiet start to the week, with just one indicator on the schedule – the Labor Market Conditions Index.

The yen dropped sharply on Friday, as the US dollar took advantage of a superb US Nonfarm Payrolls report. The key employment indicator improved to 257 thousand in January, up from 252 thousand a month earlier. This easily beat the estimate of 236 thousand. The Federal Reserve has been clear that the employment numbers will have to be strong before a rate hike kicks in, so the strong NFP reading has reinforced expectations for an interest rate in mid-2015, which would be a boost for the US dollar.

USD/JPY for Monday, February 9, 2015

USD/JPY February 9 at 12:30 GMT

USD/JPY 118.58 H: 119.05 L: 118.54

USD/JPY Technical

• USD/JPY was flat in the Asian session. The pair has posted slight losses in the European trade, breaking below support at 118.69.
• 118.69 has reverted to a resistance role and is a weak line. 119.83 is stronger.
• 117.49 has strengthened in support.
• Current range: 117.49 to 118.69

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 117.49, 116.69, 115.56, 113.64 and 112.41
• Above: 118.69, 119.83, 120.63 and 121.69

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/JPY ratio is showing gains in short positions on Monday. This is consistent with the pair’s movement, as the yen has posted small losses. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the US dollar moving to higher ground.

USD/JPY Fundamentals

• 5:00 Japanese Consumer Confidence. Estimate 39.4 points. Actual 39.1 points.
• 6:00 Japanese Economy Watchers Sentiment. Estimate 45.6 points. Actual 45.7 points.
• 15:00 US Labor Market Conditions Index.
• 21:00 US FOMC Member Jerome Powell Speaks.
• 23:50 Japanese Tertiary Activity. Estimate 0.1%.
• 23:50 Japanese M2 Money Stock. Estimate 3.6%.

*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.