Investing.com - The dollar strengthened against the yen amid choppy trading on Thursday in wake of a Bank of Japan decision to expand its stimulus program.
In Asian trading on Thursday, USD/JPY was trading at 78.38, up 0.01%, up from a session low of 78.36 and off a high of 78.46.
The pair was likely to find support at 78.26, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 78.46, the earlier high.
The Bank of Japan decided this week to increase the size of its monthly bond purchases by JPY10 trillion to a total of JPY80 trillion.
The JPY10 trillion increase in the asset-purchase program will be split equally towards additional purchases of treasury discount bills and Japanese government bonds, the central bank said in a statement.
The Bank of Japan also left its policy interest-rate target unchanged in the current range of zero to 0.1%
The dollar, however, continued to come under pressures of its own in wake of the Federal Reserve's recently announced plans to stimulate the world's largest economy.
The Federal Reserve will buy USD40 billion in mortgage-backed securities a month from banks on an ongoing basis until the economy improves and job demand grows, a policy measure known as quantitative easing, which weakens the dollar to spur recovery and job demand.
Conflicting housing news broke in the U.S. earlier, which allowed for choppy trading.
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales in the U.S. rose by 7.8% to a seasonally adjusted 4.82 million units in August, surpassing market expectations for a 2% increase to 4.55 million units.
Groundbreaking on new homes, however, rose less than expected in August, while building permits issued declined.
In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau that U.S. housing starts rose by 2.3% in August to a seasonally adjusted 750,000, below expectations for an increase to 765,000.
The report also showed that the number of building permits issued in August fell 1% to a seasonally adjusted 803,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.8% to 796,000.
The yen, meanwhile was down against the pound and down against the euro, with GBP/JPY up 0.06% and trading at 127.23 and EUR/JPY trading up 0.06% at 102.34.
In Asian trading on Thursday, USD/JPY was trading at 78.38, up 0.01%, up from a session low of 78.36 and off a high of 78.46.
The pair was likely to find support at 78.26, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 78.46, the earlier high.
The Bank of Japan decided this week to increase the size of its monthly bond purchases by JPY10 trillion to a total of JPY80 trillion.
The JPY10 trillion increase in the asset-purchase program will be split equally towards additional purchases of treasury discount bills and Japanese government bonds, the central bank said in a statement.
The Bank of Japan also left its policy interest-rate target unchanged in the current range of zero to 0.1%
The dollar, however, continued to come under pressures of its own in wake of the Federal Reserve's recently announced plans to stimulate the world's largest economy.
The Federal Reserve will buy USD40 billion in mortgage-backed securities a month from banks on an ongoing basis until the economy improves and job demand grows, a policy measure known as quantitative easing, which weakens the dollar to spur recovery and job demand.
Conflicting housing news broke in the U.S. earlier, which allowed for choppy trading.
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales in the U.S. rose by 7.8% to a seasonally adjusted 4.82 million units in August, surpassing market expectations for a 2% increase to 4.55 million units.
Groundbreaking on new homes, however, rose less than expected in August, while building permits issued declined.
In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau that U.S. housing starts rose by 2.3% in August to a seasonally adjusted 750,000, below expectations for an increase to 765,000.
The report also showed that the number of building permits issued in August fell 1% to a seasonally adjusted 803,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.8% to 796,000.
The yen, meanwhile was down against the pound and down against the euro, with GBP/JPY up 0.06% and trading at 127.23 and EUR/JPY trading up 0.06% at 102.34.