Investing.com - The dollar was steady against the yen on Thursday as investors turned their attention to Fridays’ U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for indications on the timing of further reductions to the pace of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program.
USD/JPY touched session highs of 104.99 and was last up 0.04% to 104.89, not far from the five year highs of 105.43 struck last Thursday.
The pair was likely to find support at 104.16, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 105.43.
Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s December meeting showed that the bank cited a stronger labor market in its decision to cut its asset purchase program by USD10 billion, reducing it to USD75 billion-a-month.
The minutes also showed that officials were keen to stress that further reductions were not on a “preset course” and would be undertaken in “measured” steps.
The minutes came on the heels of a report showing that the U.S. private sector added the largest number of jobs since November 2012 last month. ADP nonfarm payrolls rose by 238,000 in December, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 200,000.
The dollar was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.13% to 1.3594. The euro’s gains looked likely to remain capped ahead of the European Central Bank’s first policy meeting of the year later in the trading day.
Elsewhere, the euro was higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.19% to 142.60.
USD/JPY touched session highs of 104.99 and was last up 0.04% to 104.89, not far from the five year highs of 105.43 struck last Thursday.
The pair was likely to find support at 104.16, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 105.43.
Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s December meeting showed that the bank cited a stronger labor market in its decision to cut its asset purchase program by USD10 billion, reducing it to USD75 billion-a-month.
The minutes also showed that officials were keen to stress that further reductions were not on a “preset course” and would be undertaken in “measured” steps.
The minutes came on the heels of a report showing that the U.S. private sector added the largest number of jobs since November 2012 last month. ADP nonfarm payrolls rose by 238,000 in December, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 200,000.
The dollar was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.13% to 1.3594. The euro’s gains looked likely to remain capped ahead of the European Central Bank’s first policy meeting of the year later in the trading day.
Elsewhere, the euro was higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.19% to 142.60.