Investing.com - The dollar firmed against the yen on Friday after better-than-expected reports on U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment reminded investors the Federal Reserve remains on track to raise interest rates in 2015.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was up 0.46% at 116.31, up from a session low of 115.74 and off a high of 116.82.
The pair was expected to test support at 113.84, Monday's low, and resistance at 116.82, the session high.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall consumer sentiment index for November hit 89.4, its highest reading since July 2007, beating forecasts for an 87.5 reading.
Also in the U.S., the Census Bureau reported that U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% last month, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% gain, after a 0.3% fall in September.
Core retail sales, which exclude volatile transportation items, increased by 0.3% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.2% gain after a 0.2% contraction the previous month.
Friday's data bolstered expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in 2015.
The yen, meanwhile, continued to come under broad selling pressure amid mounting speculation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could call a snap election in December, which would allow him to better push through his reforms, which call for a weaker Japanese currency to spur growth.
Separately, the yen was down against the euro and down against the pound, with EUR/JPY up 0.79% at 145.57, and GBP/JPY trading up 0.16% at 182.19.