By MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar was on an uptrend against its major rivals in Asian trading Thursday, getting a lift against the yen on reports of more Bank of Japan easing.
Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun reported the BOJ will consider taking additional policy-easing steps to cope with a recently rising yen and falling share prices.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar (USDYEN 85.5400, +0.1800, +0.2109%) rose to ¥85.78, up from ¥85.34 in late North American trading Wednesday.
Still, Japanese Trade Minister Masayuki Naoshima told reporters Thursday that the current dollar level of around ¥85 is "very painful" to Japanese companies because their assumed exchange rate is ¥90.00, business daily Nikkei reported.
The euro (EURYEN 109.8100, +0.0500, +0.0456%) bought ¥109.68, down from ¥109.94.
The dollar index (DXY 82.30, +0.07, +0.09%) , a measure of the performance of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose to 82.63 from 82.17 late Wednesday.
The pound (GBPUSD 1.5641, +0.0045, +0.2885%) slipped to $1.5520 from $1.5619 and the euro (EURUSD 1.2837, -0.0018, -0.1400%) dropped to $1.2793 from $1.2878.
"The euro lost ground in the Asian session, dropping back below the $1.28 level, as the positive sentiment about European growth continues to dissipate," said currency strategists at Brown Brothers Harriman.
On Wednesday, the dollar remained somewhat steady against the euro but maintained losses against the British pound after minutes of the Bank of England's latest policy meeting dispelled worries that the central bank may be considering further easing measures. See Thursday's Currencies report.
