Investing.com - The dollar fell to three-week lows against the yen on Wednesday as concerns over the escalating conflict in Ukraine bolstered safe haven demand and investors awaited testimony from Fed Chair Janet Yellen later in the trading day.
USD/JPY hit 101.43, the weakest since April 11 and was last down 0.18% to 101.49.
The pair was likely to find support at 101.25 and resistance at 101.75, the session high.
Demand for the safe haven yen was underpinned by worries over the crisis in Ukraine, as conflict between the government and pro-Russian separatists continued to escalate.
The dollar was also hit by concerns that Fed chief Janet Yellen would reiterate that the bank intends to keep rates on hold for longer, in spite of last month’s stronger-than-forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
The euro was also lower against the firmer yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.25% to 141.26.
Elsewhere, EUR/USD was trading at 1.3917, not far from the seven-week peaks of 1.3950 struck on Wednesday.
The euro edged lower after data on Wednesday showed that German factory orders slumped 2.8% in February from a year earlier, confounding expectations for a 0.3% increase.
The data came one day after upbeat service sector data from Spain and Italy bolstered the outlook for the broader recovery in the euro area.