For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, USD strengthened 0.38% against the JPY and closed at 77.08.
The Japan Department Stores Association reported that the department store sales in Japan rose 0.8% (YoY) in December, compared to a 1.9% drop in the previous month. Meanwhile, in the US, initial jobless benefit claims tumbled 50,000 to 352,000 in the week ending 14th January.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 77.08, with the USD trading flat from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 76.75, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 76.41. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 77.37, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 77.66.
The pair is expected to trade on the cues from the release of All Industry Activity Index, Leading Economic Index and Coincident Index in Japan later today.
The currency is trading well above its 20 Hr and its 50 Hr moving averages.