USD/JPY extends decline as FX traders await TIC report

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The yen extended gains versus the dollar on Monday, following upbeat data on Japan’s services sector and as FX traders awaited a key report on foreign holdings of U.S. long-term securities.

In early European currency market trading, USD/JPY hit 81.22, down 0.31 percent on the day and close to Friday’s 15-year low of 80.88.

The U.S. Treasury was later due to publish its closely watched Treasury International Capital report for August. The U.S. was also due to release official data on industrial production and capacity utilization.

According to intraday analysis, USD/JPY was likely to touch immediate support around 80.88 and encounter resistance around the high of Oct. 7, 83.03.

The yen’s gains also came after Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said late Sunday that its tertiary sector index of service industry activity fell less than expected in August.

Elsewhere, the yen jumped versus sterling: GBP/JPY traded at 128.82, down 1.1 percent, according to intraday analysis.