Investing.com - The dollar fell against the yen on Friday after the U.S. ordered airstrikes over Iraq to halt a Sunni insurgency.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was down 0.17% and trading at 101.92, up from a session low of 101.51 and off a high of 102.15.
The pair was expected to test support at 101.31, the low from July 23, and resistance at 102.92, Tuesday's high.
U.S. President Barack Obama gave the go-ahead for air strikes in Iraq, which fueled safe-haven demand for the yen.
Obama approved targeted strikes to protect Iraqi civilians from the insurgency as well as and U.S. personnel in Iraq.
The Iraqi government requested assistance.
Elsewhere, ongoing tensions in Ukraine gave the yen an edge over the dollar due to fears military conflict and sanctions slapped on Russia will slow the European and U.S. economies.
Elsewhere, at the conclusion of its monthly policy meeting, the Bank of Japan maintained its pledge to increase the monetary base at an annual pace of 60 trillion yen to 70 trillion yen, though geopolitical events largely guided the pair.
The yen, meanwhile, was down against the euro and up against the pound, with EUR/JPY up 0.21% at 136.71, and GBP/JPY trading down 0.46% at 171.06.
Earlier Friday, official data showed that Germany's trade surplus narrowed to €16.2 billion in June from €18.8 billion in May. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to €17.5 billion in June.
A separate report showed that French industrial production rose 1.3% in June, exceeding expectations for a 1.0% gain, after a decline of 1.6% in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 2.3% drop.