Forex: USD/JPY struggling to regain 93.50

The cross can’t get enough traction to leave behind 93.50 on Friday, as buying interest is back to the Japanese yen in a context dominated by risk aversion.

“The biggest near-term market risk for USDJPY is the announcement of the next BoJ governor likely to be in the coming week. USDJPY has been unable to break to a fresh high since the G7 announcement, waiting for a catalyst”, writes Camilla Sutton, Chief Currency Strategist at Scotibank.

At the moment, the cross is up 0.18% at 93.27
Next resistance levels align at 93.87 (high Feb.21) ahead of 94.05 (high Feb.20) en route to 94.22 (high Feb.18).
On the opposite direction, a breakdown of 92.92 (low Feb.22) would clear the way to 92.77 (low Feb.21) and then 92.22 (low Feb.15).

Feb 22, 2013

Session Recap: Dollar strong, EUR/USD weighed by LTRO payments

The US dollar trades broadly higher on Friday, while the euro came under renewed pressure after the repayment figures of the second 3-year LTRO were lower than expected, offsetting at the same time the better-than-expected readings from the German IFO series. Meanwhile the CAD is among the worst performers, with USD/CAD at 7-month highs in the wake of disappointing economic data. Stocks opened positively after 2 days of losses.

Fundamental Afternoon Wrap: Europe on edge as Italian vote looms on horizon

This afternoons institutional research has understandably carried a heavy focus on European goings on, with the LTRO repayments coming in much lower than expected, indicating that fundamental conditions on the ground are not as good as previously expected. Also, the Italian election is the key event on the horizon with the prospect of yet another Berlusconi resurgence causing markets general discomfort.