© Dukascopy Bank SA
The U.S. Dollar strengthened versus the Japanese Yen on Friday, June 20, adding to a small weekly gain after the U.S. central bank said that interest rates will stay on hold despite the improving U.S. economic outlook. USD/JPY rose to 102.07 late Friday from 101.93 on Thursday, ending the week with a 0.10% gain. The pair is likely to find a support at 101.60 and resistance at 102.40. While the U.S. Dollar stayed under pressure following the FOMC minutes, Japan's Yen ended the week lower also versus the firmer Euro.
This week, in contrast, the pair is seen to appreciate as it depicted on the chart, with a number of bulls significantly outweighing bears. USD/JPY is forecasted to reach the 102.21 level by Friday, June 27. One of Community members, who expected the pair to appreciate in the coming days, was Sankit, who said "My views are strongly bullish for the pair. National CPI data from Japan is scheduled on Friday, which I expect will disappoint market and yen will lose ground." Meanwhile Likerty believes that "USD/JPY still maintains six-month old range and calling levels inside this range is a complicated task. As much as it might look undirectionless, formally its a bearish correction."
The key economic events to watch this week include U.S. consumer confidence, durable goods orders and home sales, while Friday's Japanese data on retail sales and inflation will be also closely followed by investors.
© Dukascopy Bank SA