Yen nears 150 as US data boosts greenback

The yen weakened close to 149.9 per dollar on Friday, marking its lowest point in nearly two months, as broad dollar strength weighed on the Japanese currency. The dollar index hovered near 98 after two sessions of gains and was heading for a weekly rise of almost 1%, though it eased slightly as traders awaited the release of the PCE price index, the Federal Reserves preferred gauge of inflation. Support for the greenback came from strong US economic data, with weekly jobless claims falling to 218K and second-quarter GDP growth revised higher to 3.8%, the fastest pace in nearly two years. On the domestic side, Tokyos core inflation picked up to 2.5% in September, while minutes from the Bank of Japans July meeting showed policymakers remained inclined to raise rates further if growth and price trends meet expectations.

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