The USD/JPY pair is retreating on Tuesday afternoon after Japan published several contradicting statistical reports.
On Tuesday, the Japanese Yen is strengthening against the USD. The current quote for the instrument is 112.32.
Today’s statistics published by Japan was rather mixed. The Preliminary Industrial Production in the country was -0.8% m/m (on YoY, +3.2%) against expectations of +0.4% m/m (+4.3% y/y). In the previous month, the indicator increased on MoM, and it wasn’t surprising: industrial production readings remain uneven due to constant slumps and surges in demand.
The Retail Sales in January expanded by 0.5% m/m (+1.0% y/y) after losing 1.6% m/m in the previous month and against expectations of 0.3% m/m. On YoY, the indicator has been improving for the third month in a row, which is a good signal indicating the consumer interest revival.
The private consumption recovery is one of the major problems for Japan along with the unstable inflation. In the past, the consumption decreased due to a slow growth of salaries in the country. Companies are unwillingly revise salaries: external fundamental background remains unstable, this is why it’s rather difficult to make any long-term forecasts.
In the meantime, today’s tendencies are a bit better than a month or two months ago. Taking into account that it’s just the beginning of the year, the Japanese economy outlook in 2017 seems quite stable.
RoboForex Analytical Department