Investing.com - The U.S. dollar moved higher against the Japanese yen in Asian trade Tuesday, with investor concerns on European debt sending dealers to the safe-haven greenback.
In mid-day Asian trade, USD/JPY hit 76.74, the pair’s highest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 76.68, adding 0.11%.
The pair was likely to find support at 75.97, the low of August 19, and resistance at 77.86 the high of September 9.
Earlier Monday, the Greek government announced its 2011 fiscal deficit would total 8.5% of gross domestic product, well short of the 7.6% target set out by European finance officials as a prerequisite to obtaining a new round of rescue funds.
Meanwhile in Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers, said Monday the group will not yet make a scheduled decision on the next round of bailout payments to Greece.
Later Monday, the U.S. Institute for Supply Management reported that its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose 51.6 in the month of September, up from 50,6 the previous month.
Market expectations were for the index to register 50.5 for the period.
Indications of increased U.S. manufacturing activity were not enough to save Wall Street issues from posting steep drops by the end of the Monday session; The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.36%, the Nasdaq Composite Index sank 3.29%, while the S&P 500 surrendered 2.85%.
Over the weekend, the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey of manufacturers showed a an increase to 2, from minus 9 in the previous quarter, matching market expectations.
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But the survey of business sentiment remained below the 6 it registered before the March 11 earthquake and tusnami that triggered a subsequent contraction in Japan’s economy.
Meanwhile, the yen moved lower against both the euro and the British pound with
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was scheduled to testify before the Joint Economic Committee in Washington D.C. later Tuesday.