FX.co ★ Global macro overview for 20/02/2017

Global macro overview for 20/02/2017:

The Japanese Ministry of Finance had reported overnight that Japan's trade balance turned negative in January, as imports surged and exports rose much slower than expected. The current trade deficit was £1.087 trillion in January, while the previous month surplus was at the level of £641.4 billion (market analysts expected the deficit of £636.8 billion for the reported month). Exports increased by an annualized 1.3% in January, well below forecasts calling for 4.7% increase. Exports rose in December for the first time in 15 months.In the same time, imports rose 8.5% in the 12 months through January, compared with forecasts calling for a 4.7% increase. In conclusion, the last bright spot on the Japanese economy is starting to fade away and it will be interesting to see how much percent will be added to the overall GDP for the last quarter.

Let's now take a look at the USD/JPY technical picture at the H1 time frame after the news were released. The market is currently trading inside of a narrow upwards channel after an impoulsive slide from 144.94 high. The next resistance is seen at the level of 113.49 and the next support is seen at the level of 112.84.