US leading index for January comes in at 1.0% vs 0.7% expected

Better than expected

The US leading index came in at 1.0% vs 0.7% expected.

The prior month remained unchanged at 0.6%. The index has not been below the 0.0% level on any month since May 2016. The most recent data has been quite positive with all but 2 months showing gains of 0.3% or more in 2017. The January reading of 1.0% is a good start to the year.

Below is a breakdown of the contributions this month:

Is the USD impressed?

No. The USDJPY trades at new session lows to test the 50% retracement of the move up from the Feb 16 low (see chart below). Support target. DO the buyers stick a toe in right here? Or does the price target break and open up more downside potential?