Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged lower against the yen on Friday, but remained supported amid recent signs of a strengthening U.S. economic recovery, while Japan's parliament approved the Bank of Japan governor.
USD/JPY hit 95.89 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 96.02, slipping 0.09%.
The pair was likely to find support at 94.84, the low of March 8 and resistance at 96.68, the high of March 12.
The dollar remained supported after the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 332,000, last week compared to expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 350,000.
The unexpectedly strong data, together with recent stronger-than-forecast data on nonfarm payrolls and retail sales fuelled optimism over the durability of the U.S. economic recovery.
Earlier Friday, Japan's parliament approved Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's nominee for central bank governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, and nominees for the two deputy governor posts, clearing the way for radical monetary easing measures.
The yen was lower against the euro with EUR/JPY adding 0.21%, to hit 125.24.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on consumer inflation and preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment, followed by reports data on industrial production, and manufacturing activity in New York state.