Investing.com - The yen pushed higher against the dollar on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious amid lingering concerns over the health of China’s economy and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
USD/JPY hit 102.79, the lowest since March 6 and was last down 0.15% to 102.85.
The pair was likely to find support at 102.50 and resistance at 103.40, Tuesday’s high.
Safe haven demand continued to be underpinned by worries over the outlook for China’s economy after data over the weekend showed that exports dropped 18.1% in February and inflation slowed.
Markets were also warily eyeing the standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine. Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk was to travel to the U.S. to meet President Barack Obama on Wednesday, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis continued.
Investors were looking ahead to U.S. reports on retail sales and consumer sentiment due out later in the week for further indications on the strength of the economic recovery.
The euro was also lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.22% to 142.45.
The single currency gave up some gains on Tuesday after European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio said markets had missed some parts of its message on forward guidance last week.
He also said the ECB still had policy options available, including lower interest rates or quantitative easing, if necessary.
Elsewhere, the euro edged lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD sliding 0.09% to 1.3846.