Investing.com – USD/JPY rose during Asian trading after Japan’s current account deficit hit a record high in December.
According to the data released by Japan's Ministry of Finance on Monday, country’s seasonally adjusted current account deficit for December widened to JPY638.6 billion from JPY592.8 billion in November.
Japan’s YoY Bank Lending, that measures the change in the total value of outstanding bank loans issued to consumers and businesses, remained at 2.3%, as per the figures released by Bank of Japan.
Later in the day more data is expected from Japan as Consumer Confidence Survey will be released at 1400 Tokyo (0500 GMT) followed by January Economy Watchers' Survey at 1500 (0600 GMT).
The consumer confidence index fell 1.2 points to a seasonally adjusted 41.3 in December, posting the first drop in two months after a 1.3-point rise to 42.5 in November and a 4.2-point slump to 41.2 in October.
Economy Watchers' Survey, the index for the current economic climate rose to a seven-month high of 55.7 in December from 53.5 in November. Markets are expecting it to go down to 55.5 in December.
USD/JPY rose 0.16% at 102.49, AUD/USD fell 0.09% at 0.8950 while NZD/USD fell 0.12% at 0.8285.
On Friday, the dollar slid after the Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs in January, well below expectations for jobs growth of 185,000, after December's lackluster gain of 75,000 jobs.
It was the weakest two-month stretch of job creation in three years as inclement weather contributed to a slowdown in hiring.
Yet the report also showed that the number of people participating in the labor force edged up to 63% from a 30-year low of 62.8% last month, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to a five year low 6.6% from 6.7% in December.
The report was seen as unlikely to derail reductions in the Fed’s stimulus program. The bank announced a second $10 billion cut to its asset purchase program in January, reducing it to $65 billion-per-month.
In the week ahead, Fed Chair Janet Yellen is to testify to Congress on the bank’s semiannual monetary policy report in Washington. Her comments will be closely watched.
Friday’s preliminary data on fourth quarter euro zone economic growth will also be in focus.