USD/JPY Hits Fresh 17-Month Low After FOMC Minutes
USD/JPY dropped
further after the release of the Federal Reserve minutes and bottomed
at 109.33, hitting the lowest level since October 2014. The pair then
bounced to the upside, and it trading around 109.60/70, near the level
it had before the minutes.
Greenback rose across the board after
the FOMC document. According to it, several members debated about a
rate hike in April and a couple of members wanted a hike in March. Fed
officials noted that the next move regarding monetary policy will be
based on economic data and not on the calendar, signaling that a move
during a meeting with no follow-up press conference is possible.
“Several
expressed the view that a cautious approach to raising rates would be
prudent or noted their concern that raising the target range as soon as
April would signal a sense of urgency they did not think appropriate,”
minutes said. While “some other participants” considered that an
increase might be warranted if economic data came in as expected.
USD/JPY technical levels
To
the upside, resistance levels might now lie at 109.90 (Apr 5 low),
110.20 (Asian session low) and 110.55/60 (Mar 17 low / daily high). On
the downside, support could be seen at 109.30/35 (daily low), 109.00
(psychological) and 108.35 (Oct 23, 24 & 27, 2014 highs).
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)
