The USDJPY is relatively unchanged as at the time of writing, despite disappointing US unemployment data. The Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) report for December 2019 shows that the US economy added just 145,000 new jobs, which was lower than the 162,000 jobs that economists had predicted. This figure was also significantly lower than the 266,000 jobs added in November 2019. US unemployment rate remained static at 3.5%. The figures were not totally surprising, and mirror the disappointments seen in the manufacturing sector in the last three months, with successive downbeat ISM Manufacturing PMI numbers.
Despite the downbeat data, the USDJPY has remained firm at 108.54. This is because the deviation in the number did not meet the targets that were set out in my preview of the NFP report earlier today, and as such did not generate the required level of volatility on the USDJPY to produce a tradable situation. This therefore explains the relatively quiet response of the pair to the news.
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The outlook for the USDJPY post-NFP therefore remains unchanged. The resistance to the pair is still seen at 109.54, and price is presently testing this level on the daily chart. A break above this level takes the pair towards the next resistance target at 109.51.
On the flip side, price rejection at the current resistance opens the door for a pullback, which should target the floor of the range at 108.07. Other risk-on/risk-off factors such as the US-China trade deal and the US-Iran tensions may come into play to impact price movements on the USDJPY.