USD/JPY is going up steadily in the past few two weeks. It just made another leap, breaking the 98 line. This happened as the US session began, and continued on American data which was very bad. The next stop is the most round number – 100.
Terrible US Data
Core fell by 2.5%, worse than -2.1% that was expected. A bigger disappoint was seen in the non-Core figure. Durable Goods Orders dropped by 5.2% (!), worse than -2.4% that was expected, and worse than last month’s number  -3%.
Unemployment Claims were also terrible: 667K. After a few weeks of stability at around 620K, there was an escalation in jobless claims.
Both figures are terrible for the US economy, but risk aversion plays a big role in trade this week.
At 15:00 GMT, New Home Sales will be released. They are expected to stand at 325K, even less than last month’s 331K. But it seems that nothing can stop the USD/JPY from reaching 100. It rises on bad American data and on weak American data.
Recent Decline of the Japanese Yen
The recent weakening of the Japanese Yen came after devastating numbers from Japan, as well as the government’s will to weaken the currency.
Industrial Production fell by 9.8% last month, and is expected to fall by 10.2%, on the figure released tonight. These terrible numbers add to the overwhelming Japanese GDP, that shrank by 11.7% (annual rate) in the previous quarter.
The Japanese government, although not admitting it, was terrified by the high currency value, that was hurting the export based economy. The rate of 87 was “marked†as bottom. The Yen has been deteriorating since then, and aiming for the might number 100.
