Investing.com - The dollar rose to its highest level in 13 years against the yen on Thursday, boosted by expectations that the economic recovery in the U.S. would accelerate the timeline for higher interest rates.
USD/JPY hit 124.30, the most since June 2002 and was last at 123.73.
Economic data released in the past week, including reports on inflation, new home sales, business investment and consumer confidence all indicated that the economy is gaining momentum after a slowdown in the first quarter.
Expectations that the economy will rebound from the first quarter have supported the view that the Federal Reserve will begin to hike interest rates around September.
The euro edged higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD at 1.0940, still not far from Wednesday’s one-month trough of 1.0818.
The euro backed away from lows on Wednesday after the Greek government said it had started drafting an agreement with its international creditors, signaling progress in long-running negotiations to unlock more financial aid.
However, European officials played down suggestions of a deal, saying negotiators still had much work to do before reaching an agreement.
The euro rose to one-week highs against the weaker yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.35% to 135.27.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, slid 0.24% to 97.11 from Wednesday’s five week peaks of 97.88.