Forex - Dollar remains lower vs. yen

The dollar fell to an almost one week low against the yen on Tuesday, before trimming back losses, but remained under pressure following disappointing U.S. housing data on Monday.

USD/JPY pulled back from 99.15, the pair’s lowest since July 17, to hit 99.50 during late Asian trade, still down 0.16%.

The pair was likely to find support at 98.88, the low of July 16 and resistance at 100.61, Monday’s high.

The dollar came under pressure after data showing that U.S. existing home sales fell unexpectedly in June dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve will start scaling back its asset purchase program this year.

The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales fell 1.2% to an annual rate of 5.08 million units in June, but still remained close to three-and-a-half year highs.

In Japan, the government upgraded its assessment of the economy for the third consecutive month in July, saying "areas of self-sustaining recovery can be observed."

In its monthly economic report, the government also said consumer prices are “leveling off," indicating that deflation is abating.

The yen was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY slipping 0.16% to 131.19.