• EUR/JPY trades virtually flat around 183.00, amid persistent support for the Japanese Yen.
• Confidence and price indicators released earlier send mixed signals on the Eurozone outlook.
• Expectations of policy normalization in Japan continue to limit the upside potential of the cross.

EUR/JPY trades around 183.00 on Thursday at the time of writing, virtually unchanged on the day, as relative support for the Japanese Yen (JPY), driven by expectations of monetary policy normalization in Japan, meets mixed European macroeconomic data released earlier today.

The Japanese currency continues to draw some support from the increasingly widespread view that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will pursue its policy normalization process. Governor Kazuo Ueda recently reiterated that the central bank is ready to raise interest rates if economic and price developments remain in line with forecasts, stressing that gradual adjustments to monetary support are needed to foster sustainable growth alongside a moderate rise in wages and prices.

On the Eurozone side, market attention is mainly focused on today’s releases from the European Commission and Eurostat, which paint a mixed picture of economic conditions. Consumer Confidence improved in December, rising to -13.1 from -14.6 previously and beating market expectations. Industrial Confidence also edged higher to -9 from -9.3, pointing to tentative stabilization in the manufacturing sector.

By contrast, conditions in the services sector appear more fragile, with the Services Sentiment indicator slipping to 5.6 in December, below forecasts. The Economic Sentiment Index declined to 96.7 from 97.1 in November, missing the consensus.

Eurostat also released key data on producer prices and the labor market. The Producer Price Index (PPI) accelerated to 0.5% MoM, up from 0.1% previously, while the annual release fell 1.7% after a 0.5% drop, a slightly better outcome than expected. At the same time, the Unemployment Rate edged down to 6.3% in November from 6.4% in the prior month, offering a modestly positive signal for the labor market.

These mixed European indicators add to earlier inflation data, confirming a gradual easing in consumer price pressures and contribute to keeping the Euro (EUR) under pressure against the Japanese Yen. In this environment, EUR/JPY struggles to move decisively away from the 183.00 area, as investors remain cautious amid limited visibility on the Eurozone recovery and growing confidence in Japan’s path toward monetary policy normalization.