Investing.com - The U.S. dollar continued to climb against the yen on Friday, after the Bank of Japan maintained the level of its stimulus program and as Thursday's U.S. jobless claims data continued to support the greenback.
USD/JPY hit 119.47 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since December 10; the pair subsequently consolidated at 119.24, gaining 0.33%.
The pair was likely to find support at 117.54, the low of December 15 and resistance at 121.00, the high of December 9.
The yen came under pressure after the BoJ said it will boost its monetary base at an annual pace of ¥80 trillion.
The traditional safe haven yen rallied earlier in the week as a rout in oil prices continued, adding to fears over the global economic outlook and the impact of oil’s drop on weakening emerging market economies and their currencies.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained supported after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 12 fell by 6,000 to 289,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 295,000. Economist had forecast an increase of 1,000.
The greenback also continued to benefit from the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement. On Wednesday, the Fed said it would be "patient" before raising rates, guidance which it said is consistent with earlier assurances statement that rates would stay low "for a considerable time."
The central bank acknowledged the improvement in the U.S. labor market and noted that the economy is making progress toward its goals in inflation and employment.
At the bank’s post policy meeting press conference Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the Fed was unlikely to raise rates for the "next couple of meetings" indicating that a move in April at the earliest is possible.
The yen was lower against the euro, with EUR/JPY climbing 0.40% to 146.49.