Investing.com - The U.S. dollar dropped to two-and-a-half week lows against the yen on Friday, as investors locked in profits after the greenback's recent rally due to a string of positive U.S. data, while the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged.
USD/JPY hit 101.60 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since July 24; the pair subsequently consolidated at 101.73, shedding 0.35%.
The pair was likely to find support at 101.42, the low of July 24 and resistance at 102.15, the session high.
The greenback strengthened broadly this week after a series of upbeat U.S. economic reports sparked fresh speculation over the timing of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 2 decreased by 14,000 to 289,000 from the previous week’s total of 303,000.
Earlier in the week, separate reports showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in June and that the U.S. service sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than three years in July.
Meanwhile, at the conclusion of its monthly policy meeting, the Bank of Japan maintained its pledge to increase the monetary base at an annual pace of 60 trillion yen to 70 trillion yen.
The BOJ cited "some weakness" in exports and production, fuelling some concerns over the strength of the world's third-biggest economy.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY declining 0.36% to 135.92.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a preliminary report on nonfarm productivity.