|

USD/JPY pushing for 111.50 ahead of US retail sales

  • US Dollar continues to grind it out against the Yen, but is seeing some softness heading through Wednesday's Asia session.
  • Upcoming US Retail Sales figures could get the Greenback back on track.

The USD/JPY is continuing its bullish push higher but is seeing some hesitation, pulling back to 111.25 after peaking for Wednesday at 111.42.

The Greenback declined against the Japanese Yen from a two-week high near 112.15, bottoming out at 110.10 and is now grinding its way back, clearing back over the 111.00 key handle and the USD/JPY now looks set for a brief reprieve before continuing to claw back recent losses.

Wednesday will be bringing the latest Retail Sales figures for the US, dropping the m/m Core Retail Sales for July (forecast 0.3%, previous 0.4%) at 12:30 GMT, while the Yen side will be seeing Japan's latest Trade Balance figures late in the day at 23:50 GMT, where an expected surge in imports is expected to push the Merchandise Trade Balance down from the last showing of ¥720.0 billion to ¥-50.0 billion.

USD/JPY levels to watch

Despite the US Dollar's recovery, major swing high levels remain unbroken thanks to continued global tensions, and as FXStreet's own Valeria Bednarik noted, "in the 4 hours chart, the pair is currently struggling around a directionless 100 SMA with the 200 SMA also heading nowhere a few pips above the current level, although technical indicators maintain their upward slopes at fresh weekly highs and well into positive territory, somehow anticipating another leg higher for this Wednesday."

Support levels: 110.50 110.20 109.80

Resistance levels: 111.30 111.60 111.90

Author

Joshua Gibson

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

More from Joshua Gibson
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD accelerates losses, focus is on 1.1800

EUR/USD’s selling pressure is gathering pace now, opening the door to a potential test of the key 1.1800 region sooner rather than later. The pair’s pullback comes on the back of marked gains in the US Dollar following US data releases and the publication of the FOMC Minutes later in the day.

GBP/USD turns negative near 1.3540

GBP/USD reverses its initial upside momentum and is now adding to previous declines, revisiting at the same time the 1.3540 region on Wednesday. Cable’s downtick comes on the back of decent gains in the Greenback and easing UK inflation figures, which seem to have reinforced the case for a BoE rate cut in March.

Gold reclaims $5,000 and above

Gold is back on the front foot on Wednesday, shaking off part of the early week softness and challenging two-day highs just above the key $5,000 mark per troy ounce. The move comes ahead of the FOMC Minutes and is unfolding despite an intense rebound in the US Dollar.

Fed Minutes to shed light on January hold decision amid hawkish rate outlook

The Minutes of the Fed’s January 27-28 monetary policy meeting will be published today. Details of discussions on the decision to leave the policy rate unchanged will be scrutinized by investors.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Sui extends sideways action ahead of Grayscale’s GSUI ETF launch

Sui is extending its downtrend for the second consecutive day, trading at 0.95 at the time of writing on Wednesday. The Layer-1 token is down over 16% in February and approximately 34% from the start of the year, aligning with the overall bearish sentiment across the crypto market.