Forecast: Japan unemployment rate expected to hold

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The Japan Statistics Bureau is due on Monday to publish key data on the unemployment rate, in one of the day’s major realtime forex news events affecting the yen.

The report is expected to show that the percentage of the total work force that is unemployed and actively seeking employment remained at 5.1% in November, according to two major online FX trading news outlets, the same as the mark recorded in October.

The bureau is scheduled to release the report at 11:30 P.M., GMT; as such the data is likely to have a big impact on trading the following day.

However, the release of the report may be overshadowed by other data from Japan at the same time on household spending, retail sales and core CPI.

According to USD/JPY analysis, a rise in the unemployment rate could lift the currency pair toward short-term resistance around the Dec. 21 high of 83.9

But should the data show a drop in the rate, USD/JPY could push toward short-term support around the Dec. 7 low of 82.34.