Yesterday the USDJPY did not see much of an increase in volatility, but still managed to rise to just below the 158-level.

The New York Empire State Manufacturing Index for June, which was announced yesterday, came in at -6.0 compared to a forecast of -10.5, thus beating expectations.

Today in the Tokyo session the USDJPY showed little energy, with aimless price movement eventually leading to a low of 157.51 just before GMT 02:00.

The 1-hour chart of the USDJPY (as of GMT 05:15 on June 18) shows that although we have had a series of candles with small bodies, the price has trended up through the middle line of the Bollinger Bands and is rising little by little.

(20-period Bollinger Band, showing ±1 and ±2 standard deviations)

Today's main economic indicators are as follows.

• GMT 12:30 U.S. May Retail sales (MoM)
• GMT 12:30 U.S. May Retail sales excluding autos (MoM)
• GMT 13:15 U.S. May Industrial production (MoM)
• GMT 20:00 U.S. April Net long-term TIC flows
• GMT 20:00 U.S. April Total net TIC flows

Considerable attention will be paid to the U.S. retail sales that are scheduled to be announced today at GMT 12:30, and price movements may lack force until then.