Talking Points:
- The Yen made a little ground on the US Dollar after the first Japanese data of a packed day
- Household spending fell much less than expected in December
- The jobless rate held steady
The Japanese Yen strengthened moderately against the US Dollar early in Tuesday’s Asia Pacific trading session as the first Japanese data of a busy day came in a touch better than markets had expected.
Household spending fell 0.3% on the year in December. That may not sound like great shakes but it was a better showing than the 0.9% fall which forecasters were predicting. It was also better than November’s 1.5% slide, and the trend suggests that households are at least losing some of their fear of splurging, even if they are not about to set spendthrift records anytime soon.
Official employment data were released at the same time, and they were more or less in line. December’s jobless rate was 3.1%, exactly as expected and no change from November. The ratio of jobs to applicants ticked up to 1.43, above the 1.42 expected and the previous month’s 1.41.
USD/JPY weakened a little on the news, sliding to 113.79 from 113.84 just before the release.
Going down. USD/JPY
Chart Compiled using TradingView
However, it’s likely that many investors will have chosen to hold off ahead of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision, due later on Tuesday. The BoJ is not expected to alter its monetary settings, but it may upgrade its view of Japan’s economic position.
Have you always wanted to know more about financial-market trading? Check out the DailyFX webinars.
--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
Contact and follow David on Twitter: @DavidCottleFX
