Investing.com - The dollar fell against the yen on Thursday as investors bet that the Federal Reserve will keep policy loose at its meeting next week even if it decides to scale back its monthly asset-purchasing program.
In U.S. trading on Thursday, USD/JPY was trading at 99.34, down 0.56%, up from a session low of 99.02 and off a high of 99.99.
The pair was likely to find support at 98.55, Friday's low, and resistance at 100.61, Wednesday's high.
Many investors expect the Federal Reserve to announce plans to taper its USD85 billion in monthly asset purchases at its Sept. 17-18 meeting.
Stimulus tools such as Fed asset purchases weaken the dollar by driving down borrowing costs, and talk of their dismantling can strengthen the greenback.
However, expectations that the Fed will only slightly cut the amount of bonds it purchases each month — if it decides at all — sent investors chasing safe-haven yen positions against the greenback on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell by 31,000 to 292,000 from 323,000 in the previous week.
Analysts were expecting the number to rise by 7,000 to 330,000, though the report said the decline was largely due to two states not processing all of their claims because of computer upgrades, which further bolstered the yen's appeal.
The yen, meanwhile, was up against the pound and up against the euro, with GBP/JPY down 0.50% and trading at 157.23 and EUR/JPY trading down 0.52% at 132.59.
On Friday, the U.S. will release data on retail sales, producer price inflation and preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.
In U.S. trading on Thursday, USD/JPY was trading at 99.34, down 0.56%, up from a session low of 99.02 and off a high of 99.99.
The pair was likely to find support at 98.55, Friday's low, and resistance at 100.61, Wednesday's high.
Many investors expect the Federal Reserve to announce plans to taper its USD85 billion in monthly asset purchases at its Sept. 17-18 meeting.
Stimulus tools such as Fed asset purchases weaken the dollar by driving down borrowing costs, and talk of their dismantling can strengthen the greenback.
However, expectations that the Fed will only slightly cut the amount of bonds it purchases each month — if it decides at all — sent investors chasing safe-haven yen positions against the greenback on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell by 31,000 to 292,000 from 323,000 in the previous week.
Analysts were expecting the number to rise by 7,000 to 330,000, though the report said the decline was largely due to two states not processing all of their claims because of computer upgrades, which further bolstered the yen's appeal.
The yen, meanwhile, was up against the pound and up against the euro, with GBP/JPY down 0.50% and trading at 157.23 and EUR/JPY trading down 0.52% at 132.59.
On Friday, the U.S. will release data on retail sales, producer price inflation and preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.