Japanese Consumer Confidence Sets A New 5-Year High
THE TAKEAWAY: Japanese consumer confidence rises to a 5-year high in April -> Japan hasn’t seen economic expansion in three quarters -> Yen trading steady
Japan consumer confidence set another five year high in April, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute. Consumer confidence rose to 44.8 from a revised 44.2 in March, but the survey result disappointed expectations for the confidence number to rise to 46.0. The consumer confidence survey is intended to act as a predictor for upcoming consumer spending.
The Japanese GDP failed to grow in Q4 from Q3 levels. The unchanged economic performance followed two quarters of declining GDP. Earlier this week, the BoJ upgraded its assessment of all 9 of the Japanese regions on an improved global economy and resilient domestic demand. Improved signs of Japanese economic growth are Yen positive.
However, the Yen did not react significantly to the consumer confidence release, as the currency’s traders remain largely focused on the BoJ’s quest to beat deflation and bring inflation to 2%. The Yen is trading around 98.38 in terms of US Dollar in Forex markets at the time of this writing, and a four year high recently set at 99.94 may now provide resistance for USD/JPY.
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USDJPY Daily: April 17, 2013
Chart created by Benjamin Spier using Marketscope 2.0
-- Written by Benjamin Spier, DailyFX Research. Feedback can be sent to bbspier@fxcm.com .
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