Manufacturing activity in the region increased modestly in April. The Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey showed modest expansion of the manufacturing sector in April. The indicators for general activity and new orders suggest expansion but at a very modest pace. The survey's broadest measure of manufacturing conditions, the diffusion index of current activity, increased from 5.0 in March to 7.5 this month.

UNEMPLOYEMNT INSURANCE WEEKLY GAINS:

In the week ending April 11, advanced figures for seasonally adjusted initial claims were 294,000, showing an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level.

The housing starts reading is below expectations.

The USDX index edged lower from 98.72 probably double top in the hourly chart. The index has been making lower lows and lower highs in the one-hour chart. Weak US data put pressure on the USD. Intraday resistance is seen at 97.90. We recommend buying above 98.00 with targets at 98.20, 98.50, and 98.70. The 50Dsma lies at 96.80 and 20Dsma is seen at 97.95. The Double bottom was placed at 96.17 and 96.33.

USD/JPY

The pair edge lower to 118.79 and closed below 100Dsma. It's notgood for the near term. The pair has found support at 118.00 10Dema. This is the last hope for bulls to hold above 100DEMA 118.00. The real problem arises in case of closure below 118.00. Until that, buy on dips. Today, the pair has faced resistance at 100Dsma 119.25. The 100Dsma has pushed the price to higher levels. Bulls must close above 119.85 50Dsma to regain the strength. For an intraday view, we recommend buying above 119.35 with a target at 119.75. On the down side support is found at 119.00 and 118.70. We recommend selling below 118.70 with targets at 118.30 and 118.10.