Investing.com - The dollar firmed against the yen on Wednesday after a key private-sector U.S. jobs report came in stronger than expected, fueling hopes Thursday's official data will surprise on the upside.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was up 0.28% and trading at 101.81, up from a session low of 101.41 and off a high of 101.84.
The pair was expected to test support at 101.24, Monday's low, and resistance at 102.17, the high from June 24.
Payroll processor ADP reported earlier in its nonfarm payrolls report showed that the U.S private sector added 281,000 jobs last month, beating expectations for an increase of 200,000 and the highest since November 2012.
The upbeat data eased concerns that headwinds may be slowing U.S. recovery.
A separate report showed that U.S. factory orders fell by a larger than forecast 0.5% in May.
Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said earlier that riskier trading practices are on the rise though the country's top economist sees no need to immediately alter today's accommodative U.S. monetary policy.
Corporate bond spreads have been falling as have volatility indicators such as the VIX, which may indicate investors are taking on risks despite the possibility of facing losses for which they might not be fully prepared, Yellen said in a speech at the International Monetary Fund.
Still, policy will remain accommodative, as Fed policies aren't a panacea to deal with financial risks.
The yen, meanwhile, was down against the euro and down against the pound, with EUR/JPY up 0.10% at 139.01, and GBP/JPY trading up 0.32% at 174.67.
On Thursday, the ISM will publish its report on U.S. service-sector activity on top of the widely-watched U.S. jobs report.