Investing.com - The dollar moved higher against the yen on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session when data showed that U.S. retail sales rose more strongly than expected in December.
USD/JPY hit highs of 104.48, the strongest since January 10 and was last up 0.15% to 104.36. On Tuesday the pair rallied 1.1%, recovering from a one-month low of 102.84 struck on Monday.
The pair was likely to find support at 103.75 and resistance at 105.30.
The dollar strengthened after the Commerce Department said Tuesday that U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in December, while core retail sales, which excludes auto sales, rose 0.7%.
The data helped bolster expectations that the economic recovery in the U.S. will continue to deepen this year and offset concerns over last weekâs surprising poor nonfarm payrolls report for December.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY slipping 0.19% to 142.26.
Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.30% to 1.3637.
