Dollar falls off six-month high against yen for second day

Dollar titled lower in Asian trade off January 9 highs against yen for another session, following earlier data from Japan and amid a lack thereof from the US today. 

As of 05:56 GMT, USD/JPY fell 0.14% to 112.31 from the opening of 112.47, with an intraday low at 112.21, and a high at 112.62. 

Earlier Japanese data showed consumer prices rose 0.7%, same as May's reading, while analysts expected a 0.8% increase. 

An index tracking prices excluding fresh food, rose 0.8% as expected, up from 0.7%, while consumer prices excluding fresh food and fuel rose 0.2%, slowing down from 0.3% in May, while analysts expected a 0.4% rise. 

Bank of England cut its purchases of 25-40 year government bonds to 60 billion yen from 70 billion in the previous week, while cutting purchases of 10-25 year bonds to 180 billion from 190 billion. 

In other news, President Donald Trump criticized the Federal Reserve in an interview with CNBC, saying he's "not thrilled" with rate hike decisions that lead to a stronger dollar, while China's yuan falls like a rock. 

He commended Fed Chair Jerome Powell as a "good man", adding he won't intervene into the Fed's actions, with the remarks overall weighing on the dollar on currency war concerns. 

In his two-day testimony before the two chambers of Congress, Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed to strong economic growth this year with continued improvement in the labor market and inflation rates, while cautioning from short-term consequences to trade protectionism.