USD/JPY eases down to 112 as Wall Street turns red
- Trump wants to impose tariffs despite a new round of talks with China.
- US Dollar Index inches close to 95 in the NA session.
- USD/JPY remains on track to make its highest weekly close since early July.
After rising to its highest level in more than a month at 112.16, the USD/JPY pair lost traction as the latest trade headlines weighed on the market sentiment and helped the JPY gather strength against its rivals. As of writing, the pair was trading at 112, adding 0.09% on the day.
Bloomberg just recently published a report claiming that the U.S. President Donald Trump directed aid to proceed with the tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports despite the White House's attempts to organise a new round of negotiations with Beijing. Major equity indexes, which started the day on a positive note, reversed course on these headlines and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were last seen down 0.15%.
Despite the weaker risk appetite, the pair doesn't have a hard time staying near the 112 mark as the US Dollar Index sticks to daily recovery gains on the back of upbeat macroeconomic data releases. As of writing, the DXY was up 0.4% on the day at 94.92.
The University of Michigan's Consumer Confidence Index improved to 100.8 in September to beat the analysts' estimate of 96.6. Furthermore, industrial production expanded by 0.4% in August to match July's reading while business inventories rose 0.6% from 0.1%.
Technical levels to consider
The immediate resistance for the pair aligns at 112.15 (daily high/Aug. 1 high) ahead of 112.60 (Jul. 20 high) and 113.15 (Jul. 19 high). On the downside, supports are located at 111.30 (20-DMA), 110.75 (100-DMA) and 110 (psychological level).