Investing.com - Disappointing consumer sentiment data in the U.S. sent the dollar softening against the yen on Friday.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was down 0.32% and trading at 101.48, up from a session low of 101.21 and off a high of 101.88.
The pair was expected to test support at 101.20, the low from March 3, and resistance at 103.42, Tuesday's high.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 79.9 for March, from 81.6 in February, defying market expectations for a rise to 82.0.
Also on Friday, data revealed that the U.S. producer price index fell 0.1% in February, confounding expectations for a 0.2% rise, after a 0.2% increase the previous month.
Core producer price inflation, which excludes food, energy and trade, slipped 0.2% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.2% gain in January.
Friday's data reminded investors that the Federal Reserve will take its time dismantling its monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar as long as it remains in effect.
Markets remained on edge after data on Thursday showed that Chinese industrial production rose 8.6% in the first two months of 2014, missing market expectations for an increase of 9.5%, while Chinese retail sales rose by a smaller-than-forecast 11.8% in the same period, which bolstered demand for the yen.
The yen, meanwhile, was up against the euro and up against the pound, with EUR/JPY down 0.01% at 141.18, and GBP/JPY trading down 0.35% at 168.62.