Investing.com - The dollar rose against the yen on Friday after data revealed the U.S. economy added far more jobs in February than markets were expecting, which fueled expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue winding down its stimulus programs, which weaken the greenback to spur recovery.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was up 0.22% and trading at 103.30, up from a session low of 102.84 and off a high of 103.76.
The pair was expected to test support at 101.20, Monday's low, and resistance at 103.76, the earlier high.
The U.S. private sector added 162,000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 154,000 rise. January's figure was revised up to 145,000 from 142,000.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7% in February, from 6.6% the previous month. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged last month.
Meanwhile, data also showed that the U.S. trade deficit expanded to $39.1 billion in January, from $38.98 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $38.7 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to expand to $39.00 billion in January.
The data sent the dollar gaining, as the Federal Reserve has said it will pay close attention to data when deciding on how quickly it will dismantle its monthly bond-buying program.
Fed bond purchases, currently set at $65 billion a month, weaken the dollar by suppressing interest rates that aim to spur recovery by encouraging investing and hiring.
Still, the dollar didn't soar against its Japanese counterpart, as many investors have already priced in expectations for the Fed to continue winding down stimulus measures as the year unfolds.
The yen, meanwhile, was down against the euro and down against the pound, with EUR/JPY up 0.33% at 143.34, and GBP/JPY trading up 0.18% at 172.83.