USD/JPY is stable on Thursday, as the pair trades in the mid-117 range. On the release front, US markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, so traders can expect light trading during the North American session. Later in the day, Japan will release a host of data, highlighted by Tokyo CPI, Retail Sales, and Preliminary Industrial Production.
The Japanese yen continues to trade at low levels, and BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda addressed this on Tuesday, noting that the soft yen was having a negative effect on the Japanese economy. The yen received a boost after the BoJ minutes showed that some policymakers opposed the BoJ’s decision to expand its stimulus program last month. At that time, the BoJ shocked the markets when it increased its government debt purchases from JPY 60-70 trillion to 80 trillion per year. The yen reacted by dropping sharply against the dollar, falling to 7-year lows.
The US released a host of key data on Wednesday and the numbers were weak across-the-board. Unemployment Claims jumped to 313 thousand, its highest level since mid-September. Core Durable Goods Orders declined 0.9%, its third decline in four readings. The estimate stood at 0.5%. New Home Sales fell to a 3-month low, dropping to 458 thousand. This was short of the estimate of 471 thousand. Pending Home Sales was no better, declining by 1.1%, well off the estimate of 0.9%. There was better news from UoM Consumer Sentiment, which posted a fourth straight gain, rising to 88.8 points. However, this was short of the estimate of 90.2 points.
USD/JPY 117.56 H: 117.69 L: 117.24
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