[IMAGE] Forums Discuss these points in the Forums:  Forexnews Forum       Technicals Live Charts Analysis available from: Cornelius Luca   J.P. Chorek   Technical Research Ltd.   Charts & News featuring Standard & Poor's        Interest Rates  US: Japan: Eurozone: UK: Switzerland:   1.75%  0.15%  3.25%  4.0%  1.25-2.25%        [IMAGE]   	 [IMAGE]  Japanese Forex Trading Preview January 16, 7:00 PM: EUR/$..0.8844 $/JPY..132.19 GBP/$..1.4374 $/CHF..1.6576  Japanese Forex Trading Preview by Darko Pavlovic  At 6:50 Japan Nov undadjusted currenct account surplus (exp n/f , prev n/a) At1 2:30:00 AM Japan  Dec Tokyo dpt store sales (exp n/f, prev 1% ) At 12:00:00 AM Japan  Dec Cabinet Office econ. Watchers survey (exp 29  prev 29.6)  USD/JPY rose by three-fourth yen to a session high of 132.08 and Japanese currency weakened by more than three-fourth yen to a session low of 116.59 against the euro, after Finance Minister Shiokawa said overnight that Japan was not deliberately driving the yen down. The Bank of Japan expected decision to leave monetary policy unchanged had little impact on the yen. The BoJ raised current account deposit target at 10-15 trln yen. Therefore, the buying foreign assets may not be a viable policy option if the market continues to push JPY lower. The yen was also hurt after director general in the MoF Mizoguchi said the currency's fourth month slide is a result of poor Japanese economic outlook. Economic Minister Takenaka said that Japan's exports, is showing signs of bottoming and is starting to bounce back, although the overall economy continues to deteriorate. Minister's report announced that the economy is in its second straight month of contraction, with consumer spending and corporate capital investment remaining low. Takenaka was hopeful that the US growth would help recovery of Japan: "I think the recovery of the U.S. economy will be faster than expected," the minister said. LDP Sec-General Yamasaki said that weak state of Japanese stock market reflect pessimistic outlook investors have about the economy. Yamasaki added that the government and the ruling coalition needed to have a clear outlook for the economy, saying that currently, the economy is in a "deflationary recession." Japan November current account surplus rose 19.4% fro a year earlier to 1.125 trln yen. The trade surplus shrank 16.9% to 640.1 bln yen.  Resistance is eyed at 132.70 and 133.20. Support holds at 131.0, 130.80 and 130.50.  The euro rebound to 88.45 after falling to a to a 2-1/2 week low of 88.04 cents due to alleged sell-off by Spanish banks in order to cover their exposure to the Argentinean financial crisis. The single currency rose lifted by the EUR/JPY rise and after EU's  Solbes remark that he believes the euro will bring better economic growth. Resistance at 88.50, 89.50 and 90.0. Support is viewed at 88.0, 87.50 and 87.0.  The release of yesterday's strong US retail sales figures sparked hope that the US economy is on the road to recovery. The dollar held fairly steady against the majors following the release of industrial production data that came in slightly below but within expectations. US Industrial production eased to -0.1% in December from the previous -0.3% for the fifth consecutive monthly decline. The Capacity Utilization rate slipped to 74.4% vs. the previous 74.5% to its lowest rate since April 1983. Similarly, US manufacturing output rose to -0.1% in December from the previous -0.2%, while its corresponding capacity utilization rate edged down to 72.8% from 72.9%. US stocks tumbled on negative earnings announcements by JP Morgan Chase and Intel Corp, which revealed that it would slash capital spending in 2002. The Dow plunged to its lowest level since late November 2001 by 2% or 211 points to 9712. NASDAQ fell by 2.8% or 56 points to 1944.  Tomorrow's US jobless claims are expected to rise to 426k from last week's 395k due to underfiled claims in California because of a new law. The rise may be offset slightly by the re-opening of auto factories after a winter close and decreased layoffs in the retail sector. Also due for release in the next US session is housing starts, which are forecasted to decline slightly to 1.6 million from the previous 1.645 mln though holding fairly strong. Housing permits are estimated to edge up to 1.6 million in December from the previous 1.595 mln.  The US Treasury Department announced Wednesday a plan to meet with the representatives of the National Association of Manufacturers to discuss the effect of strong dollar policy. Last week NAM Vice President Vargo requested a meeting with the US Treasury Undersecretary for Int. Affairs Taylor to complain that the strong dollar policy is hurting the exports and slowing down the recovery of the US economy. Vargo thinks that the dollar is currently overvalued. In the recent months the dollar has strengthened against major currencies despite the  US economic slowdown.       	[IMAGE] Audio Mkt. Analysis USD Steadies Despite Equities Sell-off        Articles & Ideas  EUR/USD: Technical Analysis   Greenspan Widens Door for One More, But...       Articles & Ideas Forex Glossary   Economic Indicators   Forex Guides   Link Library      [IMAGE]  	
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