NZD/JPY trying to lift itself out of fear-fueled hole brought on by Tillerson axing
- Kiwi fumbled on Tuesday following White House Tillerson firing.
- Yen receding slightly on positive Japan data.
The NZD/JPY is lifting at the outset of Tokyo trading, heading into 78.20 as the market reacts to the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes and Japanese Machine Orders figures for January.
The BoJ's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes showed no changes or adjustments from the Japanese central bank, which continues to tow the line and keep the easing policy floodgates open as long as it takes to force inflation to reach 2% within the Japanese economy. The BoJ has been busy driving home the point that they have no intention engaging in an early or "stealth taper" of their easing programs, and after months of pre-emptive buying as traders anticipate an early move from the central bank the Yen is gradually catching on to this concept.
Japan Machine Orders for January were also up much higher than the forecast 5.6%, printing at 8.2% after the previous period's dismal -11.9%. Upbeat news and a steadfast BoJ are working to pull the Yen back down after a broad market spike in risk aversion on Tuesday following a steady stream of fear-inducing news from the White House that saw Trump unexpectedly fire his own Secretary of State while he prepares to seek $60B in new tariffs and restrictions on China.
The macro calendar is looking light for the next few days for the NZD/JPY pair, and the next challenge will be market volatility from the European Central Bank's President Mario Draghi today at 08:00 GMT. Draghi is widely expected to respond to Trump's recent steel tariffs, and a harsh tone from Draghi could kick market volatility into high gear.
NZD/JPY Technicals
The pair is leaning heavily into the bullish camp after March saw a double bottom from 76.20, and H4 charts see consecutively higher lows as the pair bounces back from a steady decline that began in January. Support is seen at the last swing low (77.54) and last week's swing high (77.65), with support from the 34 EMA (78.25) and at current high of 78.60.