USD/JPY struggles around 135.50 ahead of US Consumer Confidence

• USD/JPY is failing to surpass 135.50 as the DXY is trading lackluster.
• The US Consumer Confidence will bring a significant action in the asset.
•  A mixed performance is expected from Japan's Retail Trade.

The USD/JPY pair has slipped below 135.40 after struggling to overstep the critical hurdle of 135.50 multiple times on Monday. On a broader note, the asset is oscillating in a range of 134.27-135.55 for the past week amid the unavailability of any potential trigger that could fetch significant bids/offers on the counter.

The US dollar index (DXY) is struggling to contain the round-level resistance of 104.00 despite the upbeat US Durable Goods Orders. The US Census Bureau reported the economic data at 0.5%, significantly higher than the forecasts of 0.1% and the former release of 0.5%.

Investors were worried over the aggregate demand structure as lower estimates for the Durable Goods Orders were intensifying the recession fears. Now, the upbeat figures may provide more freedom to the Federal Reserve (Fed) to announce more policy tightening measures without much hesitation.

Going forward, investors will keep an eye over the release of the US Consumer Confidence data, which will dictate the confidence of the consumers in the economic activities. A higher print determines strong demand from the households, which will further support the greenback.

On the Tokyo front, Wednesday’s Retail Trade data will keep investors busy. A preliminary estimate for the yearly Retail Trade is 3.3%, higher than the former print of 2.9%. While the monthly Retail Trade may drop to -0.1% vs. 0.8% recorded earlier.