USD/JPY spins a tight circle as markets weigh sentiment balance
USD/JPY two-stepped near the 148.00 handle on Wednesday, testing higher but remaining capped below the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near 148.22. The pair briefly hit a five-week high of 149.14, but traders are struggling to develop or maintain momentum ahead of this Friday’s critical Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) jobs report.
US ADP Employment Change figures from August and the ISM’s latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). ADP Employment Change will land on markets on Thursday. ADP data has a tenuous relationship with Friday’s upcoming NFP official jobs data release, and has performed poorly as a preview of the final NFP figure. However, investors still tend to keep an eye on ADP's advance numbers for any potential major shifts underfoot. ISM’s Services PMI is expected to show a general improvement in firms’ economic outlook heading into the fourth quarter.
Source: Fxstreet