The Japanese yen strengthened against the other major currencies in the pre-European session on Wednesday, as most Asian stock markets traded lower, tracking the mixed cues from Wall Street and the continued turmoil in Washington following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump asked then-FBI director James Comey to end a probe into his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

This comes close on the heels of news that Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russian officials last week and potentially threatens Trump's ability to make progress on issues such as tax reform and deregulation.

In economic news, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that Japan's industrial production declined less than initially estimated in March. Industrial production fell 1.9 percent month-over-month in March instead of a 2.1 percent decrease reported earlier. In February, production had risen 3.2 percent.

On a yearly basis, industrial production growth eased to 3.5 percent in March from 4.7 percent in February.

In the pre-European trading, the yen rose to near 2-week highs of 144.95 against the pound and 112.28 against the U.S. dollar, from early lows of 146.12 and 113.12, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 143.00 against the pound and 111.00 against the greenback.

Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the yen edged up to 124.76 and 114.27 from early lows of 125.39 and 114.77, respectively. The yen may test resistance around 122.00 against the euro and 112.00 against the franc.

Against the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the yen advanced to an 8-day high of 83.36, nearly a 2-week high of 77.45 and a 2-day high of 82.62 from early lows of 84.01, 77.89 and 83.14, respectively. On the upside, 112.00 against the aussie, 76.00 against the kiwi and 81.00 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance level for the yen.

Looking ahead, U.K. jobs data for April, Eurozone CPI data for April and construction output for March are due to be released later in the day.

In the New York session, Canada manufacturing sales data for March and U.S. crude oil inventories data are slated for release.

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