Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher against the yen on Friday, as Thursday's upbeat U.S. data continued to support demand for the greenback.
USD/JPY hit 119.20 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 118.89, adding 0.17%.
The pair was likely to find support at 117.43, Thursday's low and resistance at 121.00, the high of December 9.
The dollar strengthened broadly after the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 6 decreased by 3,000 to 294,000 from the previous week’s total of 297,000.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales increased by 0.7% last month, beating expectations for a gain of 0.4%. Retail sales growth for October was revised up to a 0.5% increase from a previously reported gain of 0.3%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, advanced by 0.5% in November, easily surpassing forecasts for a 0.1% increase. Core sales in October rose by 0.4%.
The strong retail sales numbers boosted expectations for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates earlier in 2015 than once anticipated, possibly in the middle of the year.
But markets were jittery after official data earlier showed that industrial production in China rose 7.2% in November, confounding expectations for an increase of 7.5%, after a 7.7% gain in October.
The lower-than-expected data sparked concerns over a slowdown in the world's second largest economy.
The yen was steady against the euro, with EUR/JPY inching up 0.03% to 147.31.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on producer prices and a preliminary report on consumer sentiment.