AUD/JPY dumped in Tuesday, looking for support ahead of Tokyo, JPY retail figures
- AUD/JPY taken lower as Powell comes out the gate hawkish.
- Japanese Retail Trade figures due today, mild contraction expected in figures.
The AUD/JPY is trying to rebound after sliding in Tuesday's trading, currently testing just below 83.70.
With little Aussie data influencing the currency and the Yen pondering its next move in the face of constant barraging from the Bank of Japan (BOJ), both currencies fell victim to market sentiment following the Congressional testimony of new Fed chairman Jerome Powell. The AUD has been systematically weaker than the JPY recently, so the brisk round of market activity took the Australian coin further down the charts.
Wednesday will see a Performance of Manufacturing Index impacting the AUD at 22:30 GMT, while Thursday brings while New Home Sales figures will be dropping on Friday. Chinese manufacturing PMI on Thursday could also move the Aussie dollar, due at 01:45.
Japan will be seeing Retail Trade figures much sooner, due today at 23:50. Market forecasts are calling for a slight decline in the reported figures, with year-on-year Retail Trade figures anticipated at 2.1% versus the previous 3.6%.Inflation has been growing, albeit much slower than the BOJ or the economic arm of the Japanese government would like to see. Economic growth is far below the BOJ's lofty 2% target, but any news seems to be good news as markets continue to invest heavily in the Yen, and although its meteoric rise up the charts has halted for now, the Japanese currency remains elevated, threatening to undermine what little growth Japan is currently enjoying.
AUD/JPY Technicals
The pair has declined steadily in February, but the pair may have found a floor recently, and bulls have a chance to retake the pair and push back to the 200-day SMA. Sequentially lower highs running into what appears to be major support is putting the pair into a descending triangle, and a break from this level in either direction will mark a key change in trend. Support is currently coming from 83.50 and 83.25, with resistance at 84.15 and 84.80.