Investing.com - The U.S. dollar traded higher against the Japanese yen during Wednesday’s Asian session as ongoing tension pertaining to Syria boosted traders’ appetites for the greenback.
In Asian trading Wednesday, USD/JPY rose 0.06% to 97.11 after earlier trading as high as 97.29. The pair was likely to find resistance at 98.94, Monday's high, and support at 96.92, the low from Aug. 20.
Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons in its internal conflict steered investors away from the dollar as the possibility of U.S. military strikes appeared to be on the rise. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said earlier the military is ready to take action against Syria if called upon by the White House.
The U.S. insists the Syrian military has used chemical weapons during its internal conflict as have the U.K. and others, a charge Damascus has denied. On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the world would hold Syria accountable for using chemical weapons.
The yen has been enjoying broad-based safe-haven buying in recent weeks due to plunging currencies throughout the developing world. Japan’s current account surplus has made the yen all the more attractive to traders looking to skirt widening account deficits in emerging Asian economies such as India and Indonesia.
In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, single family home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas rose 0.9% in June after a 1% May increase, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Las Vegas and San Francisco led the gains, but 13 of 20 cities saw gains in prices slow on a month-over-month basis.
The Conference Board’s index of consumer sentiment rose to 81.5 this month from 81 in July. Economists expected a reading of 79. The Conference Board’s measure of economic expectations for the next six months rose to 88.7 from 86.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY fell 0.27% to 86.95 while NZD/JPY inched up 0.04% to 75.69.
In Asian trading Wednesday, USD/JPY rose 0.06% to 97.11 after earlier trading as high as 97.29. The pair was likely to find resistance at 98.94, Monday's high, and support at 96.92, the low from Aug. 20.
Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons in its internal conflict steered investors away from the dollar as the possibility of U.S. military strikes appeared to be on the rise. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said earlier the military is ready to take action against Syria if called upon by the White House.
The U.S. insists the Syrian military has used chemical weapons during its internal conflict as have the U.K. and others, a charge Damascus has denied. On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the world would hold Syria accountable for using chemical weapons.
The yen has been enjoying broad-based safe-haven buying in recent weeks due to plunging currencies throughout the developing world. Japan’s current account surplus has made the yen all the more attractive to traders looking to skirt widening account deficits in emerging Asian economies such as India and Indonesia.
In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, single family home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas rose 0.9% in June after a 1% May increase, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Las Vegas and San Francisco led the gains, but 13 of 20 cities saw gains in prices slow on a month-over-month basis.
The Conference Board’s index of consumer sentiment rose to 81.5 this month from 81 in July. Economists expected a reading of 79. The Conference Board’s measure of economic expectations for the next six months rose to 88.7 from 86.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY fell 0.27% to 86.95 while NZD/JPY inched up 0.04% to 75.69.