EUR/JPY tumbles below 136.30 ahead of EU HICP

• EUR/JPY has slipped to near 136.27 amid the ongoing EU Leaders Summit.
• Higher inflation forecasts in Germany and Spain are bolstering the odds of a rate hike by the ECB.
• Japan’s Unemployment Rate may remain unchanged at 2.6%.

The EUR/JPY pair has witnessed some selling pressure after failing to sustain above 136.60 in the Asian session. The cross advanced higher initially to an intraday high of 136.64 but found barricades and slipped lower. An ongoing European Union (EU) Leaders Summit in Brussels is deploying a heavy load on the shared currency bulls.

The major agenda of the summit is expected to remain on the war situation in Ukraine. It’s been a long three-month time period and Kyiv is still facing military attacks from Russia. Apart from that, Europe is going through the burden of mounting price pressures due to higher energy, food, and other commodity prices. Also, the members will force Hungary to withdraw its opposition to an embargo on oil from Russia.

In the European session, the release of Germany’s Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) data will get the traction. An improvement is seen in the annual figure as the forecasts dictate a figure of 8% against the prior print of 7.8%. Also, the Spain HICP may elevate to 8.3% against the prior print of 8.2%. This will bolster the odds of a jumbo rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB) going forward.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen is awaiting the release of the Employment data. The Jobs/Applicants ratio may improve to 1.23 in comparison with the former figure of 1.22. Also, the Unemployment Rate is seen flat at 2.6%.