USD/JPY eyes 111.50 on US data

• Spot clinches session tops near 111.50.
• US CB consumer confidence surprised to the upside.
• Investors remain vigilant on Powell’s speech.

The greenback is now accelerating the upside vs. its Japanese counterpart, lifting USD/JPY to the area of daily highs in the mid-111.00s.

USD/JPY bid on upbeat US data

The pair gained extra traction after US consumer confidence tracked by the Conference Board surpassed expectations for the current month, coming in at 129.5 vs. 124.0 forecasted and up from October’s 126.2 (revised from 125.9).

Adding to the upbeat tone, the Richmond Fed manufacturing index also beaten estimates at 30 for the current month.

In the meantime, the pair is reverting yesterday’s pullback to the 110.80 area, or fresh multi-week lows, and is now looking to challenge the key 200-day sma in the 111.70 region. The up move came despite yields of the key US 10-year note remain steady and close to the area of daily lows in the 2.32% area.

Furthermore, USD is expected to remain in centre stage as the speech by FOMC’s J.Powell is underway ahead of Chief Yellen’s testimony on Wednesday.

USD/JPY levels to consider

As of writing the pair is up 0.17% at 111.44 and a breakout of 111.70 (200-day sma) would open the door to 111.96 (10-day sma) and finally 112.72 (high Nov.21). On the other hand, the immediate support is located at 110.83 (low Nov.270 followed by 110.16 (23.6% Fibo of 107.33-114.73) and then 109.55 (low Sep.15).