[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  February 25, 7:00 PM: EUR/$..0.8693 $/JPY..133.83 GBP/$..1.4253 $/CHF..1.6972  Japanese Forex Trading Preview  by Darko Pavlovic  No key data.   The yen retained the upper hand against the dollar around 133.80, boosted by Japan's trade surplus that came in above 118 billion yen in January, whereas its surplus with the US rose for the first time in 10 months by 14.9% y/y to 524.8 bln yen. The latest data is to suggest that increasing US demand and weaker yen levels could benefit Japanese exports. In addition, Japanese currency found strength as a result of repatriation flows before the fiscal year ends in March. Latest report show that anti deflationary package due on Wednesday will be a two part plan: the government will provide for measures to stabilize stock market and ask the BoJ for more easing. The second more important part of the plan will likely be revealed at the end of March and will outline tax changes and tackling the bad loans debt. Thursday meeting of the BoJ is not likely to produce any rate cut although that question remains open. If the central bank does not ease monetary policy, the yen could weaken as traders express their disappointment by unloading the currency. However, if the BoJ does inject liquidity by raising its purchases of government bonds, the yen is also likely to weaken. Markets will scrutinize news conferences from Financial Minister Shiokawa, Economic Minister Takenaka and Financial Services Minister Yanagisawa. Japan's Fin Services Minister Yanagisawa was not considering new steps on bad loans in anti-deflation package. Yanagisawa explained that he had not received report on Bank report steps for Daiei According to a telephone survey released Monday by Tokyo's TV 12 the support rate for the cabinet of PM Koizumi fell to 48.4%, the first time it has fallen below 50% since it took office last April. The approval rating now stands below the 55.6% the cabinet received in the previous survey conducted in late January, immediately after Koizumi fired Foreign Minister Tanaka. Support holds at 133.20, 133.0 and 132.50. Upside capped at 134.0, 134.40 and 134.90.   EUR/USD is trading around just below 87 cents weighed by an unofficially released German jobless count for February showing a 30,000 rise to 4.32 mln, along with the news that Germany's cartel office blocked Deutsche Telekom's planned sale of its cable assets to US media group Liberty Media in a deal worth $4.81 billion. Investors are undoubtedly concerned about funneling their assets into a highly regulated European region. In mid-morning, the euro's slide was temporarily reversed as markets reacted to a fall in Germany preliminary CPI to 0.3% m/m from 0.9% or to 1.7% y/y from the previous 2.1%. German preliminary harmonised CPI also dipped to 0.3% m/m from the previous 1.0%, or to 1.9% y/y from the previous 2.3%. The Statistics office cited drops in heating oil and fuel prices as the primary reasons behind February's fall in inflation, which sparked hope that the European Central Bank would be able to lower interest rates.Nonetheless, the single currency was unable to find comfort in European Central Bank president Duisenberg's optimism that the world economy would rebound modestly, and that the Eurozone would grow close to its long-term trend between 2-2.5% by the end of the year. Markets now await tomorrow's release of the German Ifo business sentiment survey that is forecasted to rise to 87.3 in February from the previous 86.3, reflecting the improvement seen in the ZEW sentiment survey. Support is seen at 86.80, 86.45/50 and 86.10. Resistance is viewed at 87.85, 88.10 and the 200-day moving average at 88.50.  Tomorrow morning's release of the US Conference Board consumer confidence index is forecasted to slip to 96.8 in February from the previous 97.3, mirroring the decline in the University of Michigan survey. However, some analysts anticipate the index will edge up slightly because the U. Michigan survey places more weight on stock prices, which have fallen recently on accounting concerns. This week's other key US indicators include durable goods, new home sales, jobless claims, GDP, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, personal income and consumption, University of Michigan confidence survey, ISM (formerly NAPM) PMI. In the midst of all the economic releases, markets will be carefully listening to Fed Chairman Greenspan's semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday for any hint that the central bank may begin to raise interest rates sometime this year.   Major data due for release from the Eurozone comprise the German Ifo business climate indicator, French CPI, Italian foreign trade, Euroarea M3, German GDP, French INSEE industry survey, French PPI, Italian retail sales, Belgian CPI, Euroarea HICP, German PPI, French unemployment, Italy's ISAE industrial confidence survey, Italian PPI, Euroarea manufacturing PMI, Euroarea retail sales, German manufacturing PMI, French manufacturing PMI, France's INSEE household survey, Italian manufacturing PMI, Italian CPI, Italian GDP, and Spanish unemployment. Highlights from the UK are GDP, Gfk consumer confidence, nationwide house price index and the manufacturing Puchasing Managers survey. Major data releases from Japan are commercial sales, industrial production, Shoko Chukin small firm survey, housing starts, consumer prices, household survey of expenditures and the labor force survey.    	[IMAGE] Audio Mkt. Analysis Rally in USD, Stocks Weigh on European FX       Articles & Ideas  Will Greenspan & Data Overcome Enronitis?   Off Goes the Franc, On Comes Jospin       Articles & Ideas Forex Glossary   Economic Indicators   Forex Guides   Link Library      [IMAGE] 	
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