Investing.com - The dollar gained further against the yen in Asia on Friday with consumer prices data in Japan meeting expectations and a pair of speeches on Friday by the Fed chair and ECB president highly awaited.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.02% to 93.25.
In Japan, national CPI came in at a 0.4% gain in July on year as expected, though Tokyo core CPI for August gained 0.5%, above the 0.3% increase seen. USD/JPY rose 0.16% to 109.73, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7896, down 0.10%.
Speeches by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Friday will be scrutinized for hints on the path of monetary policy, but neither of them is expected to give fresh guidance.
Draghi was not widely expected to deliver any new policy message in his speech, despite speculation over how soon the central bank plans to start scaling back its stimulus program.
The dollar edged higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, but gains were capped by the release of disappointing U.S. housing sector data and as investors remained cautious ahead of the Jackson Hole summit set to begin later in the day.
Confidence over the health of the U.S. housing market was dented after the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales unexpectedly fell in July.
The data came after the U.S. Labor Department said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week rose less than expected.
Sentiment on the greenback remained fragile after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would be willing to shut down the government in order to get the funding needed for his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump also warned that he might terminate the NAFTA trade treaty with Canada and Mexico.