Investing.com – The U.S. dollar extended gains against the yen on Thursday, rising to a fresh daily high amid speculation the Bank of Japan was checking rates in the currency market, following the release of a flurry of broadly worse-than-expected U.S. data.
USD/JPY hit 77.30 during European afternoon trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 77.03, gaining 0.47%.
The pair was likely to find support at 76.41, the low of August 31 and short-term resistance at 77.58, the high of September 12.
The Department of Labor said number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose unexpectedly, increasing by 11,000 to 428,000, confounding expectations for a decline to 410,000.
In a separate report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index fell by 1.1 points to minus 8.8 in September, worse than expectations for a reading of minus 4.0.
Also Thursday, official data showed that the U.S. core consumer price inflation rose 0.2% in August, in line with market expectations, while consumer prices including food and energy costs rose 0.4% last month, above expectations for a 0.2% gain.
The yen was also down against the euro, with EUR/JPY jumping 0.87% to hit 106.32.
Earlier Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated that Japan would take steps to curb the appreciation of the yen when necessary.
"I am worried about the fact that the yen's one-sided move to the upside is continuing," Noda said.
USD/JPY hit 77.30 during European afternoon trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 77.03, gaining 0.47%.
The pair was likely to find support at 76.41, the low of August 31 and short-term resistance at 77.58, the high of September 12.
The Department of Labor said number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose unexpectedly, increasing by 11,000 to 428,000, confounding expectations for a decline to 410,000.
In a separate report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index fell by 1.1 points to minus 8.8 in September, worse than expectations for a reading of minus 4.0.
Also Thursday, official data showed that the U.S. core consumer price inflation rose 0.2% in August, in line with market expectations, while consumer prices including food and energy costs rose 0.4% last month, above expectations for a 0.2% gain.
The yen was also down against the euro, with EUR/JPY jumping 0.87% to hit 106.32.
Earlier Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated that Japan would take steps to curb the appreciation of the yen when necessary.
"I am worried about the fact that the yen's one-sided move to the upside is continuing," Noda said.