By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — The Japanese yen lost further ground Friday on the back of dovish comments from the central bank government, as the dollar edged higher and the euro slipped.
The U.S. dollar extended its move higher against the yen USDJPY +0.38% , passing the ¥79 level to buy ¥79.43, up from ¥78.85 in late North American trading on Thursday.
The euro EURJPY +0.57% bought ¥103.71, a 0.1% gain for the day, according to FactSet data.
The softer yen came after Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Friday that the central bank would keep monetary policy loose, according to reports.
Shirakawa said the bank’s consumer inflation target of 1% — which could prompt it to tighten policy — is a long way off, adding that “the BOJ will continue with powerful monetary easing,” according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the ICE dollar index DXY -0.07% , which tracks the U.S. unit against six other currencies, inched up 79.434 from 79.333 late Thursday.
The euro EURUSD +0.23% moved the other way, slipping to $1.3120 from $1.3141.
The European currency had risen in Thursday trading following reports that the region’s leaders were on track to approve money aid to Greece next week. See report on Thursday currency trading.
The British pound GBPUSD +0.25% eased to $1.5798 from late Thursday’s $1.5804.
