Forexpros – The U.S. dollar fell against the Japanese yen in Asian trade Thursday, following the release of U.S. economic data showing a better-than-expected performance in automobile sector activity.
In early Asian trade USD/JPY hit 77.15, the pair’s highest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 76.88, dropping 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 75.97, last Friday’s low, and resistance at 77.71, the high of August 9.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that core durable goods orders jumped by a seasonally adjusted 4% in July, after rising 0.6% the previous month.
Market expectation were for orders of U.S. durable goods to fall by 0.4% last month.
Orders for automobiles in July surged 11.5%, the largest gain in eight years. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders rose only 0.7%.
Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s largest automobile manufacturer, relies on the North American market for 28% of total sales.
Moody’s Investor Service, on Wednesday, reduced Japan’s credit rating to AA3 from AA2 saying decision was “prompted by large budget deficits and the build-up in Japanese government debt since the 2009 global recession.”
Meanwhile, the yen moved lower against both the euro and the British pound with EUR/JPY up 0.03% to hit 110.65, and GBP/JPY rising 0.12% to hit 126.58.
Japan’s Statistics Bureau was scheduled to release later Thursday, year on year figures for the Tokyo and National Core Consumer Price Index.
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