Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the yen on Thursday as losses in Asian equities markets overnight following unexpectedly weak Chinese economic data bolstered safe haven demand for the yen.
USD/JPY hit session lows of 104.28, and was last down 0.18% to 104.33.
The pair was likely to find support at 103.85, the low of January 20 and resistance at 105.00.
Market sentiment was hit after the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a six-month low of 49.6 in January from a final reading of 50.5 in the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 50.6.
The weak data added to concerns over a slowdown in growth in the world’s second largest economy.
The euro was also lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.23% to 141.27.
Elsewhere, the euro was unchanged against the dollar, with EUR/USD trading at 1.3546 ahead of euro zone PMI’s and unemployment data due for release later in the trading day.
Demand for the dollar continued to by supported by expectations that the Federal Reserve will taper its stimulus program by another USD10 billion at its upcoming policy meeting next week.
