Investing.com - The U.S. dollar traded lower against the Japanese yen during Friday Asian session on what could be a bout of profit-taking following the conclusion of the Bank of Japan meeting Thursday or a case of traders being jittery ahead of the U.S. August jobs report later Friday.
In Asian trading Friday, USD/JPY fell 0.34% to 99.77. The pair was likely to find support at 98.35, the low of September 2 and resistance at 100.42, the high of July 25.
At the end of its two-day policy meeting, the BoJ said it will expand the monetary base at an annual pace of JPY60 trillion to JPY70 trillion, leaving policy unchanged.
The central bank also upgraded its assessment of the economy, saying a moderate recovery is underway. No material alterations to the central bank’s already substantial monetary easing program were announced and that was widely expected by traders.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the ADP National Employment Report showed the addition of 176,000 private sector jobs last month, but that missed the estimate calling for the addition of 180,000 new jobs. The July number was revised down to 198,000 from 200,000.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 last week to 323,000. The less volatile four-week moving average fell 3,000 to 328,500, the lowest reading since October 2007. The Labor Department releases the August jobs report Friday before the open of U.S. markets.
The Institute for Supply Management said its August services purchasing managers index rose to 58.6% last month from 56.0% in July. That is good for the best reading since the index was created in 2008. Economists expected an August reading of 55%.
Should the August jobs report surprise to the upside, that could give the Federal Reserve room to begin tapering its own easing program, perhaps in turn boosting the greenback.
Elsewhere, EUR/JPY dropped 0.28% to 130.98 while AUD/JPY fell 0.25% to 91.12.
In Asian trading Friday, USD/JPY fell 0.34% to 99.77. The pair was likely to find support at 98.35, the low of September 2 and resistance at 100.42, the high of July 25.
At the end of its two-day policy meeting, the BoJ said it will expand the monetary base at an annual pace of JPY60 trillion to JPY70 trillion, leaving policy unchanged.
The central bank also upgraded its assessment of the economy, saying a moderate recovery is underway. No material alterations to the central bank’s already substantial monetary easing program were announced and that was widely expected by traders.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the ADP National Employment Report showed the addition of 176,000 private sector jobs last month, but that missed the estimate calling for the addition of 180,000 new jobs. The July number was revised down to 198,000 from 200,000.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 last week to 323,000. The less volatile four-week moving average fell 3,000 to 328,500, the lowest reading since October 2007. The Labor Department releases the August jobs report Friday before the open of U.S. markets.
The Institute for Supply Management said its August services purchasing managers index rose to 58.6% last month from 56.0% in July. That is good for the best reading since the index was created in 2008. Economists expected an August reading of 55%.
Should the August jobs report surprise to the upside, that could give the Federal Reserve room to begin tapering its own easing program, perhaps in turn boosting the greenback.
Elsewhere, EUR/JPY dropped 0.28% to 130.98 while AUD/JPY fell 0.25% to 91.12.