Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slipped lower against the yen on Friday, but remained close to seven-year peaks as investors locked in profits on the greenback's recent rally.
Dollar loses ground vs. yen as trader lock in gainsUSD/JPY hit 117.36 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 117.79, shedding 0.31%.
The pair was likely to find support at 116.34, the low of November 18 and resistance at 118.97, Thursday's high and a seven-year high.
The dollar found further support on Thursday after the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index jumped to a 21-year high of 40.8 from 20.7 in October. Economists had expected the index to decline to 18.5.
Data also showed that U.S. sales of previously owned homes rose to a 13-month high in October.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending November 15 decreased by 2,000 to 291,000 from the previous week's revised total of 293,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer prices were flat last month, compared to estimates for a decline of 0.1% and following a gain of 0.1% in September.
Separately, demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting indicated that officials believe the economic recovery is strong enough to withstand external threats to growth, but offered little additional clarity about when rates could start to rise.
Markets are currently expecting the U.S. central bank to start raising rates sometime around September 2015. In contrast, the Bank of Japan is expected to continue monetary easing in order to shore up growth and inflation.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY declining 0.35% to 147.69.
