By MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) - The dollar edged higher against the yen and took back some ground lost to the European unit in Asia Thursday. The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.2409, -0.0020, -0.1610%) slipped to $1.2357 from $1.2429 in late North American trading Wednesday. Against the yen, the euro (CUR_EURYEN 114.7500, +0.7700, +0.6756%) was at ¥113.35, down from ¥113.81 late Wednesday. "It appears the euro remains in sell-the-rally mode, as traders continue to doubt the political 'union' in the European Union," said strategists at Action Economics. \ "The euro-zone fiscal crisis will continue to dominate the markets for now, and until a clearer picture of how austerity measures and government bans on short-selling play out, the euro is likely to remain heavy across the board." Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Tokyo Thursday that he was concerned about the euro's recent rapid drop, but steps to defend the currency weren't needed. "I'm really concerned about the rapid (pace) of the fall of the exchange rate," he told reporters at the Japanese Ministry of Finance following a one-on-one meeting with Finance Minister Naoto Kan, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Juncker added, "I don't think that this is a matter (requiring) immediate action." Against the Japanese currency, the dollar (CUR_USDYEN 91.3900, -0.4100, -0.4467%) was at ¥91.73, compared with ¥91.71 late Wednesday. The dollar index (DXY 86.24, -0.16, -0.18%) , which tracks the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose to 86.461 from 86.094 late Wednesday. On Wednesday, the euro rose more than 1% against the dollar and yen on Wednesday, recouping a steep drop that had extended into the early hours. Analysts attributed the rebound to traders reversing so-called short bets that the euro would decline even further. See Wednesday's Currencies report.

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