Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher against the yen on Friday, as the previous session's upbeat U.S. data continued to lend broad support to the greenback and as lower volatility in Asia dampened demand for the safe-haven yen.
USD/JPY hit 121.30 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 121.13, adding 0.09%.
The pair was likely to find support at 119.76, Thursday's low and resistance at 122.04, the high of August 24.
The dollar strengthened broadly after the Commerce Department reported on Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.7% in the three months ending June 30, above expectations for growth of 3.2%.
Preliminary data initially pegged U.S. growth at 2.3% in the second quarter. The U.S. economy expanded 0.6% in the previous quarter.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 22 declined by 6,000 to 271,000 from the previous week’s total of 277,000.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 3,000 to 274,000 last week.
The upbeat data added to optimism over the perspective for global economic growth, while concerns over volatility in Asian markets continued to subside. Shares in Shanghai opened higher on Friday, after closing over 5% the day before.
In Japan, data on Friday showed that household spending fell at an annual rate of 0.2% in July, compared to an increase of 1.3%, after a 2.0% drop the previous month.
A separate report showed that Tokyo's core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, ticked down 0.1% this month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% fall, after a 0.1% slip in July.
Japan's retail sales increased by 1.6% in July, beating expectations for a 1.1% gain, data also showed.
The yen was also lower against the euro, with EUR/JPY edging up 0.16% to 136.35.