USD/JPY gains ground in Asian trade

USD/JPY tilted higher in Asian trade following a spate of data from Japan and ahead of US data and Fed speeches today. 

As of 06:54 GMT, USD/JPY rose 0.02% to 108.77, with an intraday high at 108.86. 

From Japan, core consumer prices fell 0.1% as expected last month, compared to no change in the previous reading. 

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is due to to speak about the economy at an online event hosted by the Bank of Japan later today. 

From the US, housing prices are expected up 1.1% in March compared to a 0.9% increase in February, while S&P 20 housing prices index is expected up 12.6% in March. 

New home sales are expected down 7.5% in April to 950 thousand compared to a 20.7% surge to 1.021 million in March, while the consumer confidence index is expected down tp 119.0 from 121.7 in March.