FXstreet.com (California) - USD/JPY saw a healthy boost on Thursday as Australian July retail sales came in better than expected and increased risk appetite, prompting market participants to cover shorts, says Yuzo Sakai, manager of FX business promotion at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow.

The pair extended into the 77.25 price zone where it met with resistance at the 61.8 fibo level of the selloff between 77.68/76.83. At the time of writing, USD/JPY is quoted at 77.06, up from 76.64. ?Short-covering may persist for some time now,? Sakai says.