USD/JPY stays down after US retail sales

FXStreet (Córdoba) - The US dollar remains on the defensive Friday, trading near monthly lows against the yen, failing to stage a decent bounce even after the latest string of supportive US data.

US retail sales rose 0.2% in November, below the 0.3% expected but still the largest increase since July, while excluding autos sales grew 0.4%, beating consensus of 0.3%. Separated data showed producer prices rose more than expected in the same month, as shown by both the headline and the core index.

USD/JPY however failed to benefit from data and continued to trade below 122.50 after a shy bounce attempt. At time of writing, USD/JPY was trading at 122.47, a few pips below its opening price.

USD/JPY levels to consider

On the downside, next support is seen at 121.06 (Dec 9 low) and 120.59 (Nov 3 low). On the other hand, resistances line up at 121.58/64 (50- 200- and 100-day SMAs) and then 121.85 (Dec 10 high) ahead of the 122.25/30 area (former support zone).

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