Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the yen on Thursday as investors awaited a press conference by newly appointed Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda later in the day.
USD/JPY hit 95.67 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 95.83, slipping 0.18%.
The pair was likely to find support at 94.82, Wednesday's low and resistance at 96.70, the high of March 12 and a three-and-half year high.
Expectations remained high that Kuroda would reiterate that the BoJ is prepared to implement more aggressive monetary easing measures in order to combat deflation and spur growth.
The yen found support earlier after official data showed that Japan's trade deficit narrowed to JPY777.5 billion in February from JPY1.63 trillion in January, compared to expectations for a deficit of JPY1.01 trillion.
Elsewhere, data showed that China's HSBC purchasing managers' index rose to 51.7 in March from 50.4 in February, indicating that the recovery in the world's second largest economy is still on track.
The Federal Reserve announced that it will leave monetary policy unchanged at the end of its two day policy meeting on Wednesday, in spite of recent signs that the U.S. recovery is gaining traction, citing concerns over high unemployment levels and risks from tax increases and federal government spending cuts.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank may gradually wind down the pace of its bond buying, but only after the labor market shows signs of being on a more stable footing.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY down 0.28% to 123.85.
The single currency remained under pressure as negotiations aimed at finding an alternative solution on a bailout deal for Cyprus continued after the parliament rejected a controversial bank deposit tax in a vote on Tuesday.
The euro zone was to produce preliminary data on manufacturing and service sector activity later in the day.
The U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on existing home sales and official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
