Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher against the yen on Friday, as demand for the greenback remained broadly supported by the previous session's strong U.S. jobless claims data and as investors awaited additional U.S. reports later in the day.
USD/JPY hit 124.05 during European afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 124.07, adding 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 123.54, Wednesday's low and resistance at 124.50, the high of July 21.
The dollar strengthened broadly after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 18 fell by 26,000 to a 40-year low of 255,000 from the previous week’s total of 281,000.
The data added to expectations for a U.S. rate hike in the near future. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last week that the central bank is likely to raise rates "at some point this year."
Market participants were now eyeing the release of U.S. manufacturing activity and new home sales data later in the day, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY sliding 0.36% to 135.61.
The single currency came under pressure after research group Markit said that Germany's preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 51.5 this month from 51.9 in June, disappointing expectations for an unchanged reading.
Germany's services PMI slipped to 53.7 in July from 53.8 in June, compared to expectations for a rise to 53.9.
Markit also said that France's preliminary manufacturing PMI fell to 49.6 this month from 50.7 in June, while the services PMI declined to 52.0 from 54.1.
For the entire euro zone, Markit said the composite PMI, which combines the manufacturing and the service sectors, slipped to 53.7 in July from 54.2 the previous month.