Investing.com - The U.S. dollar pulled back from session lows against the yen on Thursday ahead of a series of U.S. data later in the day, while official data showed that Japan’s economy expanded more than forecast in the first quarter.
USD/JPY pulled back from session lows of 101.97, to hit 102.34 during late Asian trade, edging up 0.10%.
The pair was likely to find support at 101.50, the low of May 13 and resistance at 102.75, Wednesday’s high and the pair’s highest since October 2008.
Japan’s economy expanded by 0.9% in the first quarter, the Cabinet Office said, outstripping expectations for 0.7% growth, bringing the annualized rate of growth to 3.5%.
The dollar eased against the yen on Wednesday after showed that U.S. industrial production fell by 0.5% in April, more than forecasts for a 0.2% drop.
The data undermined expectations that the Federal Reserve could begin to scale back its asset purchase program later this year.
The U.S. was to release data on jobless claims, housing starts and consumer inflation later in the trading day.
The yen pulled back from three-year lows against the euro, with EUR/JPY slipping 0.13% to 131.62.
The single currency remained under pressure after data on Wednesday showed the euro zone economy contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 0.9%.
The data fuelled expectations for further easing measures from the European Central Bank after the bank cut interest rates to a record low 0.5% earlier this month.
