Investing.com - The dollar inched higher against the yen on Tuesday but gains were limited as investors remained cautious ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday.
USD/JPY hit 100.07 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 99.85, inching up 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 99.05, Monday’s low and resistance at 100.71, the high of July 2.
Market participants were anticipating Bernanke's testimony on monetary policy amid speculation over the timing of a possible reduction to the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.
The dollar fell sharply last week after Bernanke said the U.S. economy still needed monetary stimulus.
Data on Monday showing that U.S. retail sales rose less-than-expected June fuelled fears over a slowdown in the economic recovery.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.4%, slowing from a 0.5% increase in May and undershooting expectations for a 0.8% increase.
This was offset by data showing that the Empire State manufacturing index rose to a five-month high of 9.5 in July from 7.8 in June.
The yen was lower against the euro, with EUR/JPY rising 0.21% to 130.69.
The ZEW Institute was to release its closely watched report on German economic sentiment later Tuesday and the euro zone was to release official data on consumer price inflation.
The U.S. was also to release official data on consumer price inflation and a report on industrial production.
