Yen edges below 116, inflation next

The Japanese yen has edged higher and is back below the 116 level. Still, the yen remains vulnerable, especially with US treasury yields moving higher. Earlier in the week, USD/JPY broke above116 line for the first time since January 2017.

The dollar has managed to push the yen to 5-year lows on the back of rising US Treasury yields. The 10-year yield, which finished 2021 above the 1.50% level, hasn’t missed a beat in the first week of 2022 and has pushed above 1.70%. The widening US/Japan rate differential has been weighing on the yen, which is extremely sensitive to the rate differential. If US yields remain high, I would not be surprised to see USD/JPY break past the 118 mark over the coming weeks.

Inflation has become a hot topic for the Federal Reserve and the BoE, as policymakers must deal with inflation levels that are double or triple the banks’ inflation target of 2%. In Japan, inflation has been at low levels for years, with deflation a constant problem. However, Japan hasn’t been immune to surging energy costs and rising prices of raw materials, and inflation is now getting some attention from the Bank of Japan. We’ll get a look at Tokyo Core CPI for December later in the day, which is expected to rise to 0.5% y/y, up from 0.3% in November.

Will NFP follow ADP?

With the FOMC minutes behind us, the markets are anxiously awaiting Friday’s nonfarm payroll report. The ADP employment report surprised to the upside, with a massive 807 thousand new jobs, double the consensus of 400 thousand. The huge gain led Goldman Sachs to upwardly revise its forecast by 50 thousand to 500 thousand and some analysts are projecting a print north of the 1-million mark. Still, it should be remembered that the ADP report has not been a reliable indicator for nonfarm payrolls. The consensus for the NFP stands at 424 thousand, and if the reading comes in below expectations, we could see the US dollar falter as a weak NFP could delay the timeframe for the first rate hike of 2022.

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USD/JPY Technical

• USD/JPY is putting pressure on resistance at 115.78. Above, there is resistance at 116.38
• There is support at 114.54 and 113.98

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