Intraday analysis: USD/JPY slumps on U.S. home sales data

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The U.S. dollar fell further against the yen on Tuesday, hitting a fresh 15-year low, after weak data on existing U.S. home sales and amid resurgent fears over the global economic recovery.

In early European currency market trading, USD/JPY struck 83.59, the pair’s lowest since June 1995. The currency pair later retreated slightly to trade at 83.8, down a massive 1.6% on the day.

The National Association of Realtors, a trade group, said earlier that existing U.S. home sales slumped to 3.83 million in July from 5.37 million in June. Analysts had expected a July’s figure to come in at around 4.7 million, real time forex news outlets reported.

According to intraday analysis, USD/JPY was likely to touch immediate support around 81.77, the low of May 29, 1995, and encounter resistance around the daily high, 85.19.

Meanwhile, FX traders awaited a report on Japan’s trade balance, the difference in value between imported and exported goods, which was due later in the day.

Elsewhere, the yen skyrocketed versus sterling: GBP/JPY traded at 129.29, down 2.13 percent.