Investing.com - The U.S. dollar dropped against the yen on Tuesday, pulling away from close to three-week highs as traders locked in profits from the greenback's recent rally most other major currencies.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light ahead of the New Year's holiday.
USD/JPY hit 119.19 during European early afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since December 19; the pair subsequently consolidated at 119.51, retreating 0.94%.
The pair was likely to find support at 118.23, the low of December 18 and resistance at 120.83, the high of December 23.
The dollar remained broadly supported after final data last week showed that U.S. gross domestic product rose 5.0% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a growth rate of 4.3% and up from 3.9% in the three months to June.
The strong data fuelled further optimism over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery and added to expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next year.
Separately, markets were jittery after Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Monday that he will recommend parliamentary elections are held on January 25, almost 18 months before his coalition's term was due to end.
The announcement came as Samaras failed in his third attempt to persuade lawmakers to back his candidate for head of state, forcing the legislature’s dissolution.
The yen was also higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY declining 0.98% to 145.21.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on consumer confidence.