USD/JPY testing the 107.00 handle's strength, dipping on mixed data

US Dollar faltering against safe-haven Yen as mixed data clouds traders' judgement.
High-impact news covers the economic calendar this week, and fears of the first quarter slowdown for 2018 continue to weigh.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

The USD/JPY dipped to make a new low in the Asia session into 106.97 before rebounding just back above the 107.00 handle.

Risk appetite in the Tokyo market is cooling off somewhat following mixed data from China that shows a slowdown in 2018's first quarter coming home to roost with a slight downturn in the quarterly GDP figures, while year-on-year figures still managed to beat expectations but also remained flat.

Japan Industrial Production also swung wide of expectations, printing at 1.6 percent for the monthly figure, below the 2.3 forecast but still a beat on the previous figure of 1.4 percent, while the monthly figures came in at 0.0, a clean miss of the 4.0 percent forecast and a further drop from the previous reading of 4.1 percent.

USD/JPY Levels to watch

The technical picture for the Dollar against the Yen is remaining fixed ahead of the European session, and as Valeria Bednarik, chief analyst at FXStreet explained that the pair is "gaining bearish traction" in the short term:

"In the 4 hours chart, technical indicators entered negative territory with sharp bearish slopes, although given that the 100 and 200 SMA stand in the 106.30/60 region, the downside potential is limited. The pair would need to break below 106.20 to actually enter a bearish move, while steady gains beyond 108.00 should indicate further gains ahead."

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

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.

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