The important US number on the radar for the USD/JPY later today

The USD/JPY has now lifted from an earlier session low at 146.68. It is just now rising back above the 147 handle once more and this is clearly linked to a rebound in the EUR/JPY, because the EUR/USD is now higher at the same time too. Leaving that aside and the latest gyrations in both pairs, the potentially big economic release of the day comes this afternoon, at 3pm GMT. This is the latest ISM (Institute of Supply Management) service sector index. This data can really impact US bond markets and hence the most sensitive to movement there; the USD/JPY. The service sector ISM index is actually far more important than the manufacturing index, because it reflects activity in what is the greater component of US GDP. The markets are looking for a slight improvement in the November reading, but more detail on that will follow later, ahead of the release. Meanwhile the USD/JPY is currently trading at 147.09