Investing.com - The yen gained in Asia on Friday after producer prices came in as expected and investors moved past U.S. politics for now and ahead to the Federal Reserve meeting next month widely expected to hike rates.
USD/JPY changed hands at 106.57, down 0.24%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7617, up 0.09%.
In Japan, PPI figures for October came in as expected for a 0.1% decline month-on-month and a 2.7% fall year-on-year, the 19th straight drop.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.13% to 98.66.
Overnight, the dollar was hovering at two-week highs against the other majors currencies on Thursday, after the release of upbeat U.S. jobless claims data and as markets continued to come to terms with Donald Trump’s shock election victory.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending November 5 decreased by 11,000 to 254,000 from the previous week’s total of 265,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to drop by 5,000 to 260,000 last week. The dollar also regained some strength as investors began to think that a Donald Trump presidency may not be as bad for financial markets as initially expected. Trump was declared the 45th U.S. President on Wednesday, confounding expectations for a Democratic victory.