USD/JPY shed 21 pips overnight and.......>

DOLLAR-YEN: USD/JPY shed 21 pips overnight and last deals at Y109.57, as

risk-off flows, triggered by the BBG sources reporting a stalemate in Sino-U.S.

trade talks over IP issues, lifted JPY to the top of the G10 pile. Risk appetite

recovered somewhat after Chinese 2018 GDP met exp., while Dec industrial output

& retail sales positively surprised, but the overall mood remained tempered,

allowing JPY to hold most of its gains. This occurred even as Japanese stocks

traded higher, albeit off of best levels on the back of the BBG story. 

- Initial support noted at Friday's low of Y109.06, followed by the Jan 17 low

of Y108.69. On the topside, bulls look for a jump above Friday's low of Y109.89

before challenging the Dec 25 low (now resistance) at Y110.00. 

- The BoJ is set to stay on hold when it delivers its MonPol decision on

Wednesday, but the Bank's quarterly outlook report, and the CPI projections

therein, are likely to draw attention (for our POV piece see MNI FI/FX Bullets

at 02:46 GMT 01/21). Elsewhere, Japanese highlights this week include trade

balance due Wednesday, Nikkei m'fing PMI due Thursday & Tokyo CPI due Friday, as

well as usual BoJ Rinban ops.