Forexpros – The U.S. dollar slumped to a six-week low against the yen on Thursday, following a second day of testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, while markets looked ahead to the release of U.S. economic data later in the day.
USD/JPY hit 78.48 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since June 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 78.56, shedding 0.29%.
The pair was likely to find support at 77.98, the low of June 4 and resistance at 79.14, Wednesday’s high.
In a second day of testimony on the economy and monetary policy, Bernanke said the U.S. central bank was prepared to take further action to support the economic recovery if the jobs market failed to show improvement, but failed to explicitly indicate if additional stimulus measures are imminent.
The safe haven yen was also supported by sustained concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone.
Fears over the debt crisis reemerged on Wednesday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was not certain the European project would be successful, before adding that she was optimistic in spite of the current difficulties.
Meanwhile, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 6.97%, hovering close to the critical 7% threshold, widely viewed as unsustainable in the long run, amid concerns over Madrid’s finances.
The yen was little changed against the euro, with EUR/JPY dipping 0.01% to 96.77.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish government data on initial jobless claims, as well as reports on existing home sales and manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
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