Forexpros –
Forexpros – The U.S. dollar moved lower against the Japanese yen in Asian trade Thursday, as gains on Wall Street and encouraging U.S. labor data drew dealers away from the safe-haven greenback.
In mid-day Asian trade USD/JPY hit 76.70, the pair’s lowest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 76.74, slipping 0.07%.
The pair was likely to find support at 76.10, the low of September 22, and resistance at 77.25, Monday’s high.
Earlier Wednesday, payroll processing firm ADP reported that the U.S. economy added 91,000 non-farm jobs in September, a slight gain from a revised 89,000 the previous month, and above market expectations of a 70,000 increase.
The ADP report also noted that employment in the service sector gained 90,000 in September, the 21st consecutive month of gains.
The encouraging labor numbers lifted Wall Street shares for a second day; The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.21%, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.32%, and the S&P 500 was lifted 1.79%.
In Tokyo, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa signaled that the central bank would sustain current monetary policy by the end of its two-day review on Friday, but added that the BOJ stands ready to act if conditions threaten Japan’s fragile economic recovery following the March 11 earthquake.
“I hold a very severe view of Japan’s economy and its outlook. Taking this view into account, the BOJ has conducted powerful monetary easing,” Shirakawa told Japan’s parliament.
Meanwhile, the yen moved higher against both the euro and the British pound with
EUR/JPY down 0.62% to hit 101.88, and GBP/JPY lower by 0.50% to hit 118.33.
The U.S. Department of Labor was due to release its weekly initial and continuing jobless claims data later Thursday.