Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell against the yen on Friday, but still remained within close distance of five-year highs as upbeat U.S. data continued to support the greenback, while expectations for further easing by the Bank of Japan pressured the yen.
USD/JPY hit 104.08 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since December 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 104.49, shedding 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 103.77, the low of December 23 and resistance at 104.93, the high of December 26 and a five-year high.
Demand for the dollar remained underpinned after the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday said in a report earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000 last week.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 7,000 to 334,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 341,000.
Meanwhile, the yen continued to weaken amid speculation the BoJ will have to expand its stimulus program in the coming months in order to meet its target of 2% inflation by 2015.
Minutes of the BoJ’s November policy meeting last month showed that that not all board members were convinced that the country’s growth was on a long-term upward trend. Investors also reacted to comments made by BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who said that the nation’s economy hadn’t yet completely wiped out deflation.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY retreating 0.55% to 142.46.
In the euro zone, official data earlier showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain dropped by 107,600 in December, compared to expectations for a 20,000 rise, after 2,500 decline the previous month.
USD/JPY hit 104.08 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since December 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 104.49, shedding 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 103.77, the low of December 23 and resistance at 104.93, the high of December 26 and a five-year high.
Demand for the dollar remained underpinned after the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday said in a report earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000 last week.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 7,000 to 334,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 341,000.
Meanwhile, the yen continued to weaken amid speculation the BoJ will have to expand its stimulus program in the coming months in order to meet its target of 2% inflation by 2015.
Minutes of the BoJ’s November policy meeting last month showed that that not all board members were convinced that the country’s growth was on a long-term upward trend. Investors also reacted to comments made by BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who said that the nation’s economy hadn’t yet completely wiped out deflation.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY retreating 0.55% to 142.46.
In the euro zone, official data earlier showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain dropped by 107,600 in December, compared to expectations for a 20,000 rise, after 2,500 decline the previous month.