The dollar nudge higher in Asian trade on Monday after data showed signs of wage pressure in the December U.S. jobs report which were enough to lift Treasury yields, but bulls remained cautious of a sudden setback following last week's bout of profit-taking.
With a holiday in Tokyo trading volumes were light and the dollar index was just 0.1 percent higher at 102.33, near the middle of last week's wide 101.30 to 103.82 range.
USD/JPY was buoyed, adding more than 0.5 percent to 117.53, lifted mostly by a softer yen. The pair neared short-term resistance at 117.77. Support was seen around 116.80/90. Following last Friday's jobs report, the pair already recovered all the way from a 115.06 trough, but remains well short of the next major technical target around 118.60.
EUR/USD crept up slightly to 1.0555, after it traded between 1.0339 and 1.0621 last week, but the single currency also gained ground on the yen to 123.73.
Despite a weaker than expected non-farm payrolls print, which slipped to 156'000 jobs created against consensus for 178'000, there were enough hints of inflationary pressure in the report to support the case for more interest rate hikes and reverse a down move in yields and the dollar.
Sterling fell after Theresa May says she has no plan to keep 'bits of EU membership', indicating an exit from the single market is part of her Brexit plan. GBP/USD fell more than 0.75 percent to 1.2160.
