Investing.com - The dollar slid lower against the yen on Monday, easing back from five-week highs as weakness in Asian equities markets overnight supported demand for the safe haven yen.
USD/JPY hit 100.94 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 100.97, down 0.21%.
The pair is likely to find support at 99.88, Friday’s low and resistance at 102.51, the high of May 29.
The yen pulled away from five-week lows against the dollar on Monday as concerns over tighter credit controls in China saw Chinese equities markets tumble and weighed on investor sentiment across regional markets.
But demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned as Friday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon start to taper its asset purchase program.
The dollar rallied 1.13% against the yen on Friday after official data showed that the U.S. economy added 195,000 jobs in June, more than the 165,000 increase forecast by economists.
May's figure was revised up to 195,000 from a previously reported 175,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.6% in June.
In Japan, official data on Monday showed that the current account surplus widened to JPY540.7 billion in May, the second successive monthly increase since October 2010, adding to signs that the economy is picking up.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY down 0.22% to 129.51.
Sentiment on the single currency remained fragile after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said last week that the bank expects to maintain interest rates at current or lower levels for an “extended” period of time.
The euro showed little reaction after official data earlier showed that Germany posted a smaller-than-expected trade surplus of EUR14.1 billion in May, as exports decreased by 4.8% on a year-over-year basis and imports fell by 2.6%.
Analysts had expected a trade surplus of EUR17.5 billion.
