Investing.com - Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the yen on Thursday as losses in Asian equities markets overnight supported demand for the safe haven yen, and investors awaited a report on U.S. retail sales later in the trading day. USD/JPY hit 101.96, the lowest since February 7 and was last down 0.51% to 101.99. The pair was likely to find support at 101.50 and resistance at 102.55, the session high. Japan's Nikkei ended Thursday's session down 1.8%, snapping three straight sessions of gains as markets took a breather. Risk appetite was boosted earlier in the week by upbeat trade data from China and assurances from the Federal Reserve that it is on track to continue tapering stimulus. Investors were awaiting data on U.S. retail sales, due out later in the day, amid concerns that sales slumped in January after a 0.2% rise in December. Recent weak jobs reports have raised concerns over whether the U.S. recovery has lost momentum from the end of last year. The euro was also lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.20% to 139.10. The common currency weakened across the board on Wednesday after European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said in an interview with Reuters that the bank is considering a negative deposit rate very seriously. The euro regained ground against the dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.26% to 1.3627, recovering from Wednesday's lows of 1.3561.

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