Investing.com - The U.S. dollar moved higher against the Japanese yen in U.S. trade Friday, boosted by a fifth day of gains on Wall Street and a better-than-expected report on U.S. consumer sentiment.
In early U.S. trade USD/JPY hit 76.97, the pair’s highest since Wednesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 76.91, rising 0.26%.
The pair was likely to find support at 76.43, the low of August 31, and resistance at 77.96, the high of September 4.
Earlier Friday, the University of Michigan released its report on U.S. consumer sentiment showing a more-than-expected gain to 57.8 in August, up from 55.7 in the previous month. Economists had forecast the index to hit 56.0 last month.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of 500 consumers in the U.S., measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity.
Wall Street shares were on pace to rack up their fifth consecutive day of gains, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7% to 11,512.90, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.51% to 2,620.44, and the S&P 500 was lifted 0.53% to 1,215.53.
Investors were keeping a keen eye on developments in Poland, where European finance officials, along with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, met to discuss the next steps to be taken on European sovereign debt.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank announced it would be providing U.S. dollar loans to European banks in order to provide them with enough cash through the end of the year.
The coordinated effort was to include the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank.
Meanwhile, the yen moved higher against the euro but down against the British pound with EUR/JPY down 0.28% to hit 106.12, and GBP/JPY rising 0.29% to hit 121.53.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was scheduled to give a speech after the conclusion of the meeting in Wroclaw, Poland later Friday.