Investing.com - A tepid mix of U.S. economic indicators sent the dollar weakening against the yen on Wednesday, leaving investors questioning the strength of U.S. recovery and the timing of Federal Reserve rate hikes next year.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was down 0.25% at 117.68, up from a session low of 117.44 and off a high of 117.98.
The pair was expected to test support at 117.33, last Friday's low, and resistance at 118.57, Monday's high.
The Labor Department reported earlier that the number of individuals filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose to 313,000 last week, a gain of 21,000. It was the highest level since early September, confounding market calls for a decrease of 5,000.
The number of continuing claims fell to a 14-year low of 2.31 million, indicating that the jobs market is still recovering.
At the same time, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. personal spending rose 0.2% in October, below forecasts for an increase 0.4%. Personal income also rose 0.2%, falling short of forecasts of 0.4%, which took its toll on the greenback.
While many expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in 2015, the timing of such a move remains up in the air, and Wednesday's data weakened the dollar by prompting investors to push back timetables later next year.
Elsewhere, the Census Bureau reported that durable goods orders rose 0.4% last month, beating expectations for a decline of 0.4%, but core durable goods orders, which are stripped of volatile transportation components, fell 0.9%, against forecasts for a 0.5% gain.
Also on Wednesday, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index hit 88.8 from 86.9 in October, though still below the preliminary estimate of 89.4.
Industry data revealed that the Chicago purchasing managers’ index fell from 66.2 in October to 60.8 this month, below expectations of a figure of 63.1.
Finally, data showed that sales of new homes rose 0.7% in October to an annual rate of 458,000 units, but pending home sales unexpectedly fell 1.1% last month.
Separately, the yen was down slightly against the euro and down against the pound, with EUR/JPY up 0.03% at 147.20, and GBP/JPY trading up 0.27% at 185.81.
U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.