USD/JPY drops to test hourly 100-SMA amid positive equities

18 Februari 2016 2:28 AM

USD/JPY met fresh supply above hourly 200-SMA at 114.22 and reverted to the negative territory heading into mid-Asia on the back of a broadly lower US dollar.

Yen bid on disappointing China data

The yen bulls fought back control and dragged USD/JPY back below 114 handle, as markets ignored risk-on rally in Asian equities and sought safety in the Japanese currency after the Chinese inflation data missed estimates and reinforced China slowdown fears. At the time of writing, USD/JPY drops to new session lows of 113.80, down -0.25% on the day.

China's CPI rose 1.8% y/y in January, coming in slightly weaker than the 1.9% increase forecast by markets, but accelerating from 1.6% in December.

Moreover, the yen was boosted on BOJ’s Ishida’s comments, as he sounded more optimistic on the Japanese economic outlook. While the US dollar continues to remain weak against its major competitors in wake of Wednesday’s Fed minutes, which showed that many Fed officials remained concerned amid the recent global financial markets turbulence.

Looking ahead, markets will continue to digest the latest fundamentals from the Asia-pac regions ahead of the US datasets due later in the NY session.

USD/JPY Technical levels to watch

In terms of technicals, the immediate resistance is located at 114.22/32 (1h 200-SMA/ daily high). A break above the last, the major could test 114.72/89 (Feb 15 & 16 High). While to the downside, the immediate support is seen at 113.78 (1h 200-SMA) and below that at 113.35 (Feb 17 Low).

USD/JPY met fresh supply above hourly 200-SMA at 114.22 and reverted to the negative territory heading into mid-Asia on the back of a broadly lower US dollar.