Forexpros – The U.S. dollar moved lower against the Japanese yen in Asian trade Friday, following labor data suggesting improved labor conditions feeding an appetite for risk investment away from the greenback.
In mid-day Asian trade USD/JPY hit 76.54, the pair’s lowest since Thursday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 76.56, dropping 0.35%.
The pair was likely to find support at 75.97, the low of August 19, and resistance at 77.86 the high of September 9.
The U.S. Department of Labor released weekly data, showing that the number of Americans filing for unemployment assistance fell more than expected, to a seasonally adjusted 391,000 from 428,000 the prior week.
Market expectation were for the weekly figure to drop to 420,000.
Wall Street retreated from early session gains to close mixed on Thursday; The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.30%, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.43%, while the S&P 500 added.
On Friday, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that the nation’s industrial production rose less than expected in August, to a seasonally adjusted 0.8% from 0.4% the previous month. Economists had forecast a 1.5% gain.
Also Friday, Japan’s Statistics Bureau reported that the country’s unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in August, down from 4.7% the month before. Market expectation were for Japan’s jobless rate to remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, the yen moved higher against both the euro and the British pound withEUR/JPY down 0.61% to hit 103.83, and GBP/JPY lower by 0.50% to hit 119.47.
The Bank of Japan was due to release its Tankan report on manufacturer’s and non-manufacturer’s business sentiment over the weekend.
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