Yen Strengthens Against Majors

The Japanese yen strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as investor sentiment was boosted by nation's positive inflation and jobs data for December.

In economic news, the data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that consumer prices in Japan were up 2.4 percent on year in December, topping expectations for 2.3 percent and unchanged from November.

Also, the unemployment rate in Japan was a seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent in December. That beat forecasts for 3.5 percent, which would have been unchanged from the November reading.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that industrial production in Japan added a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on month in December. That missed expectations for an increase of 1.2 percent following the 0.5 percent contraction in November. On a yearly basis, output added 0.3 percent - matching forecasts following the 3.7 percent tumble in the previous month.

In the Asian trading today, the yen rose to a 4-day high of 177.31 against the pound, from yesterday's closing quote of 178.16. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around the 175.50 area.

Against the euro, the yen edged up to 133.39 from yesterday's closing quotes of 133.83. This may be compared to an early 2-day low of 134.17. The yen may test resistance near the 129.80 region.

Against the Swiss franc and the U.S. dollar, the yen edged up to 127.64 and 117.75 from yesterday's closing quotes of 127.97 and 118.24, respectively. On the upside, 113.67 against the Swiss franc and 115.70 against the U.S. dollar are seen as the next resistance levels for the yen.

Looking ahead, Swiss KOF leading indicator for January, U.K. mortgage approvals and M4 money supply for December, Eurozone CPI for January and unemployment rate for December are set to be published in the European session.

In the New York session, Canada GDP for November, U.S. advanced GDP data for fourth quarter, Chicago PMI and U.S. Reuters/University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for January are due.