By MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) - The dollar rose in late Asian trading Thursday, after a session spent mostly under pressure as Asian equity markets rose and risk-seeking investors sought higher-yielding currencies. The dollar index (DXY 84.81, -0.02, -0.02%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, advanced to 85.031, from 84.852 in late North American trading Wednesday. The dollar (CUR_USDYEN 93.2700, +0.0400, +0.0429%) rose to 93.33 yen from 93.18 yen late Wednesday. "In order to establish a steady downward trend in the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar, not only improvements in risk appetite but also sufficient expectations of higher U.S. rates and wider U.S.-Japan yield differentials are needed," Tomoko Fujii, a rates and currency strategist at Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch, said in emailed comments. The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.2565, -0.0063, -0.4989%) slipped to $1.2591 from $1.2625 Wednesday, and the British pound (CUR_GBPUSD 1.4763, -0.0065, -0.4384%) fell to $1.4794 from $1.4831. On Wednesday, the dollar rose versus the British pound and the Japanese yen, gaining some traction against the euro, as currency traders balanced favorable European economic data with concerns that the euro zone's new aid program will provide only a temporary bandage for budget and fiscal woes. See Wednesday's Currencies report.

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