Investing.com - The dollar rose against the yen on Thursday despite disappointing U.S. jobless claims numbers, as investors concluded the U.S. economy continues to improve despite lackluster indicators here or there.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was up 0.09% and trading at 102.52, up from a session low of 102.31 and off a high of 102.66.
The pair was expected to test support at 101.51, last Friday's low, and resistance at 102.54, Wednesday's high.
The dollar weakened after the U.S. Labor Department said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending Aug. 9 rose by 21,000 to 311,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 290,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 5,000 to 295,000 last week.
The numbers softened the dollar by reminding investors the Federal Reserve won't rush to raise interest rates after it closes its monthly bond-buying program, which is seen taking place around October.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said monetary policy must address slackness in the labor market marked by soft wage growth and too many long-term unemployed and part-time workers.
Still, the dollar didn't plummet, as a longer term analyses of weekly jobless claims reports and other labor-market indicators point to an improving U.S. economy.
In Japan, June core machinery orders, a leading indicators of capital spending, rose 8.8% in June from May, better than May's 19.5% drop but well below market calls for a 15.3% gain on month, which softened the yen.
The yen, meanwhile, was down against the euro and down against the pound, with EUR/JPY up 0.10% at 137.02, and GBP/JPY trading up 0.04% at 171.03.
On Friday, the U.S. is to round up the week with reports on manufacturing activity in New York state and industrial output, as well as preliminary data on consumer sentiment.