The USD/JPY's attempts to recover were still weak yesterday. It tried to rebound but did not get past the 113.63 level, and collapsed in early trading today to the support level at 112.62 and settles around the 113.05 level as of this writing. The US dollar has benefited a bit from its safe-haven appeal after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the first confirmed case of Covid-19 caused by the new Omicron variant in the US.
The CDC said the first confirmed case of Omicron was detected in an individual in California who returned from South Africa on November 22, 2021. The CDC said: “A person who is fully vaccinated and has mild symptoms improve, He is subject to self-quarantine and since then his test result has been positive.” And “all contacts were contacted and the results of the tests were negative.”
A report released by the payroll processor ADP showed that US private sector employment increased slightly more than expected in November.The ADP said that employment in the private sector jumped by 534,000 jobs in November after rising by a revised 570 thousand jobs in October. Economists had expected US private sector employment to jump by 525,000 jobs, compared to an addition of 571,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. For its part, Nella Richardson, chief economist at ADP, noted that "it is too early to tell whether the alternative Omicron can slow the job recovery in the coming months."
The Institute for Supply Management released a separate report showing US manufacturing activity grew at a slightly faster rate in November. The ISM said that its manufacturing PMI rose to 61.1 in November from 60.8 in October, and according to the index's data, any reading above the 50 level indicates growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to reach 61.0.
On the other hand, according to the Beige Book, US economic activity grew at a modest to moderate pace during October and early November. The Beige Book, a collection of anecdotal evidence of economic conditions in each of the 12 federal districts, was released two weeks before the next monetary policy meeting.
The Fed noted that many regions saw strong demand, but growth was constrained by supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell noted during congressional testimony that the emergence of the coronavirus Omicron variant could slow progress in the labor market and exacerbate supply chain disruptions.
The Beige Book added that consumer spending increased slightly during this period, although lower inventories hampered sales of some items, particularly light vehicles.
Technical Analysis
On the daily chart, the USD/JPY is still stable to the downside and turned the general trend to the bottom, and stability around and below the 113.00 support level motivates the bears to move further downward. The closest support levels for the pair may currently be 112.55 and 111.80 And 110.90, which are sufficient levels to push the technical indicators towards strong oversold levels. On the upside, for the bulls need to break through the 114.55 resistance to get back on the upside trajectory. So far I still prefer selling USDJPY from every bullish level.
The currency pair will be affected today by risk appetite, in addition to the announcement of the number of US weekly jobless claims.
