Forexpros – The dollar fell against the yen on Thursday, as investors ditched the greenback amid profit taking, shrugging off weaker-than-expected manufacturing data out of Tokyo.
USD/JPY hit 78.05 during early Asian trading, down 0.03% and just up from a session low of 78.00 and off from a high of 78.14.
The pair was likely to test support at 77.93, Wednesday’s low, and resistance at 78.16, Wednesday’s high.
The Bank of Japan’s Tankan manufacturing index fell to a seasonally adjusted -4 for the quarter ending December, worse than 2 in the preceding quarter ending September.
Consensus among analysts put the index falling -2 in the quarter, and the worse-than-expected figures suggest waning confidence in the economy among manufacturers.
The dollar soared in earlier U.S. and European sessions over ongoing concerns that Europe remains embroiled in its debt crisis although the greenback eased off those gains in Asian trading.
The yen, meanwhile, was down slightly against the euro, with EUR/JPY rising 0.03% and trading at 101.40, and up against the pound, with GBP/JPY falling 0.07% to 120.68
Later Thursday, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi was expected to speak in public and market watchers will look for hints of central bank involvement in the debt crisis, which would pleasantly suprise markets worldwide.
Also Thursday, the U.K. will releases its latest retail sales data, while the U.S. government will report on the week’s initial jobless claims.
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