USD/JPY: mildly bid despite above-forecast Japanese retail sales and risk-off in equities

• USD/JPY is reporting marginal gains in Asia below 109.50.
• Japan's retail sales beat forecasts by a big margin, but the JPY is not impressed.
• Moderate losses in the equities aren't helping the JPY either.

The USD/JPY pair is mildly bid in Asia even though the Japanese data bettered estimates and the Asian stocks are flashing red.

Japanese retail sales jumped 1.3 percent year-on-year in December, beating the estimated figure of 0.8 percent by a big margin, but down slightly from the previous month's print of 1..4 percent. The seasonally adjusted month-on-month reading rose 0.9 percent following a 1.1 percent drop in November.

So far, however, the better-than-expected consumption as represented by retail sales has failed to put a bid under the Japanese yen.

Further, Asian stocks are feeling the pull of gravity. For instance, Japan's Nikkei is currently down 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, stocks in New Zealand and South Korea are reporting 0.58 percent and 0.10 percent, respectively. Also, futures on the S&P 500 are flat lined. Still, the anti-risk JPY is struggling to gain ground against the greenback.

Currently, the pair is trading at 109.40, having clocked a high and low of 109.44 and 109.22 earlier today.

Short-term picture is neutral - FXStreet  Analyst Valeria Bednarik

The short-term picture is now neutral, as in the 4 hours chart keeps trading between the 100 and 200 SMA, with the shorter lacking directional strength and converging with a key Fibonacci level at 109.05. Technical indicators in the same chart hover right below their midlines, lacking directional strength. As commented on previous updates, the downside potential seems quite limited as long as the pair holds above the mentioned 109.05, while to the upside, the key is the 110.00 figure, wherein the mentioned chart the pair also has its 200 SMA providing a dynamic resistance.      

Technical Levels