Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher against the yen on Friday, after mixed Japanese data as Thursday's upbeat economic reports from the U.S. continued to support demand for the greenback.
USD/JPY hit 103.93 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 103.80, adding 0.08%.
The pair was likely to find support at 103.50, the low of August 22 and resistance at 104.16, the high of August 27.
Official data earlier showed that household spending in Japan dropped at a annualized rate of 5.7% in July, compared to expectations for a 3.0% decline, after a 3.0% fall the previous month.
A preliminary report also showed that Japan's industrial production rose 0.2% last month, disapointing expectations for an increase of 1.0%, after a 3.4% drop in June.
On a more positive note, retail sales in Japan rose at annualized rate of 0.5% in July, beating expectations for a 0.1% uptick, after a 0.6% fall in June.
Meanwhile, demand for the dollar remained supported after a string of upbeat reports on Thursday confirmed the view that the U.S. economic recovery is on track.
Preliminary data showed that U.S. gross domestic product expanded by 4.2% in the second quarter, beating expectations for growth of 3.9%.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 22 declined by 1,000 to 298,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 299,000.
The yen was steady against the euro, with EUR/JPY dipping 0.03% to 136.69.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on personal spending and revised data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.