The Asian part of Tuesday's listing is marked by a further strengthening of the US Dollar, which is strongly opposed by the Japanese Yen (0.2%), due to excellent retail sales data for December (0.9% m / m, consensus: -0.4%.). The above fact is not favorable for investors in Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 index valuation is -1.4% under water.
On Tuesday, January 30th, the event calendar is light in important news releases, but the market participants should keep an eye on Net Lending to Individuals data from the UK, Preliminary GDP data from France, Preliminary CPI data from Germany, and Flash GDP data form the whole Eurozone. During the US session, the biggest news will be CB Consumer Confidence release in the afternoon.
USD/JPY analysis for 30/01/2018:
The Retail Sales data from Japan has beat the estimates significantly. The market participants expected -0.4% drop on a monthly basis, but the figures were at the level of 0.9%. On the yearly basis, the sales jumped from 2.1% to 3.6%, which is a significant improvement as well. Retail Sales are a leading indicator for the economy. Rising consumer spending fuels economic growth, that confirms signals from consumer confidence and may spark inflationary pressures. The recent jump in spending will for sure be noticed by the Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda.
Let's now take a look at the USD/JPY technical picture at the H4 time frame. The initial positive market reaction to the data was quickly faded, and the price returned to the consolidation zone. Now, the nearest technical support at the level of 108.27 is the key level to the downside. The weak momentum supports the bearish outlook.
Market Snapshot: USD/CAD Double Bottom?
The price of USD/CAD has made a possible Double Bottom formation at the H4 time frame chart at the level of 1.2290. Any breakout above the level of 1.2396 will be the first confirmation of the bottom. The growing momentum and rising stochastic oscillator support the bullish view.
Market Snapshot: Gold falls out of the channel
The price of Gold has fallen out of the channel and broken the level of $1,344 which was acting as a technical support. Currently, the price is getting closer to the technical support at the level of $1,331 in somewhat oversold market conditions.
