USD/JPY stays calm near 110.00 ahead of US data, muted risk sentiment

• USD/JPY tracks higher on the last trading day of the week in the initial Asian trading hours.
• US Dollar Index pushes higher above 93.00 on renewed taper speculation.
• US Treasury rises for the straight third day underpins the demand for the US dollar.

The USD/JPY pair manages to trade higher on Friday in the initial Asian trading session. After touching the high around 110.23, the pair retreated below 110.00 in the US session.

At the time of writing, USD/JPY is trading at 110.08, up 0.01 % for the day.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against its six major rivals, rebounds above 93.00 with 0.26% gains. USD gains on geopolitical tensions in Afghanistan and hawkish comments from US Fed Robert Kaplan. Kaplan tapering could start in October this year.

US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported GDP growth for the second quarter to 6.6% from 6.5% whereas Initial Jobless Claims increased to 353K in August.

The US 10-year benchmark Treasury yields trade higher at 1.35% with 0.76% gains.

On the other hand, the Japanese Yen remained on a lower track after Japan’s government maintained its economic assessment for a fourth straight month in August but offered a moderate bleaker view than July, on a resurgence in COVID-19 infections weighed on consumer sentiment.

As for now, investors wait for the slew of economic data: US Personal Income and Spending data, Goods Trade Balance, Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Index and Fed Chair Jerome Powell speech to gauge the market sentiment.

USD/JPY additional levels: