USDJPY correction before further growth
USDJPY correction before further growth. After reaching the level of 116.10, the USD/JPY pair went into a correction to get more profitable entry points for buy positions, however, the positions of the American currency at the moment look more attractive for investment than the yen. Quotations are supported by positive macroeconomic statistics from the US. Thus, the Core PPI for January rose by 0.8%, although analysts had expected a figure of 0.5%. PPI for January added 1.0%, which exceeded the market’s preliminary estimates twice.
St. Louis Fed Chairman James Bullard’s comments added confidence to US dollar buyers. In an interview with CNBC on Monday, he reaffirmed his view that the US Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates by 100 basis points over the next three meetings. According to the official, the last four reports on inflation have reflected its significant acceleration and justified decisive action by the country’s financial authorities by July 1.
Meanwhile, a negative trend has emerged in the Japanese economy: the country’s Q4 GDP amounted to 5.4% YoY, although analysts predicted growth by 5.8%. The indicator strengthened by 1.3% QoQ, which is also inferior to the preliminary market estimates of 1.4%. The volume of industrial production in December decreased by 1.0%, which confirmed the forecast of experts.
On Friday, February 18, traders will follow the publication of Japan’s nationwide Core CPI for January. A slight increase of 0.3% is expected. Before the release of these macroeconomic statistics, the USD/JPY pair may grow to 116.10.
Support and resistance
The long-term trend in the USD/JPY pair is upwards. After reaching the level of 116.10 last week, the instrument corrected to the area of 115.30 but this level was held, which led to a new upward impulse towards the breakout of 116.10.
The first target for the medium-term uptrend around the January high at 116.25 was reached last week and the asset rushed to the target zone 4 (117.29–117.07). The nearest support levels from which long positions can be considered are at 115.03 and 114.31.
Resistance levels: 116.10, 117.00.
Support levels: 115.30, 114.30, 113.50.
