AUD/JPY faces some selling pressure near 99.00 following Japanese CPI data

• AUD/JPY attracts some sellers to 98.90 in Friday’s early European session. 
• Japan’s CPI inflation data rose to 2.8% YoY in February from 2.2% in January, which remains above the BoJ’s target.
• Australia added 116.5K new employees in February, up from 15.3K in January.

The AUD/JPY cross faces some selling pressure around the 99.00 mark during the early European session on Friday. The uptick in Japanese Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data provides some support to the Japanese Yen (JPY) and weighs on the AUD/JPY. Investors will take more cues from the Australian monthly CPI next week. AUD/JPY currently trades near 98.98, down 0.63%.

The recent data from the Japan Statistics Bureau on Friday revealed that the nation’s CPI inflation data for February climbed to 2.8% YoY from 2.2% in January. This figure remains well above the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) 2% target, boosting the JPY against the Australian Dollar on Friday. Furthermore, the Core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose to 2.8% in February from 2.0% in the previous month, in line with market expectations. 

On the Aussie front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that Australia added 116.5K new employees in February from 15.3K in the previous month. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate fell to 3.7% in February from 4.1% in January, stronger than the market expectation of 4.0%. 

Next week, the market players will monitor the Australian monthly CPI and Retail Sales for February. On the Japanese docket, Tokyo CPI for March will be a closely watched event. Traders will take cues from these events and find trading opportunities around the AUD/JPY cross.