Forex - USD/JPY edges up to fresh 4-1/2 year highs

The U.S. dollar edged up against the yen on Friday, hovering near four-and-a-half year highs as speculation over an earlier end than expected to the Federal Reserve's easing program sent the greenback broadly higher. 

USD/JPY hit 102.58 during early European trade, a four-and-a-half year high; the pair subsequently consolidated at -102.49, adding 0.22%. 

The pair was likely to find support at 101.26, the low of May 14 and resistance at 102.58, the session high. 

The greenback found support after John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said the Fed could begin reducing its monetary easing this summer and end bond buying late this year. 

The dollar had come under pressure on Thursday, after a string of disappointing economic reports. 

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index fell to minus 5.2 in May from April’s reading of 1.3. Analysts had expected the index to improve to a reading of 2.4 in May. 

The data came after the Department of Labor said number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 360,000 last week, compared to expectations for an increase of 2,000 to 330,000. 

The yen was lower against the euro with EUR/JPY edging up 0.13%, to hit 131.87. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.