Investing.com - The yen rebounded sharply in Asia on Friday as investors switched to the safe-haven currency amid an uptick in risk sentiment over the potential impact of U.S. tax cuts as plans passed the House of Representatives and a key U.S. Senate committee.
USD/JPY changed hands at 112.57, down 0.43%, while AUD/USD traded up 0.04% to 0.7591. EUR/USD gained 0.30% to 1.1805 and GBP/USD also rose 0.30% to 1.3234.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.33% to 93.53.
Overnight, the dollar was roughly unchanged on Thursday shrugging off a duo of bearish reports on initial jobless claims and manufacturing ahead of a Republican House vote on a massive tax reform bill.
House Republicans passed a tax overhaul of U.S. tax laws on Thursday, according to various media reports. The vote comes a day after Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said he would oppose the bill, but a key committee in the Senate reported the version of tax cuts to the full Senate.
The dollar rebounded from lows, shaking off data pointing to weakness in manufacturing and the labor market.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims increased 10,000 a seasonally adjusted 249,000 for the week ended Nov. 11, missing forecasts of a 4,000 decrease.
Amherst, however, downplayed the unexpected rise in jobless claims, saying that it could reflect seasonal noise as readings from Veterans Day through Presidents Day has historically been noisier than usual due to holidays, weather, and turn-of-the-year churn in the labor market.
Philly Fed manufacturing index for November fell to 22.7 in November from 27.9 in October, undershooting economists’ forecasts for a reading of 25.
Sterling, meanwhile, added to gains against the dollar after data showed UK October retail sales growth topped expectations.