By Andrea Tryphonides The dollar tumbled against the yen Friday on comments reportedly made by the Japanese finance minister on the yen's recent strength while European stocks rose and the price of oil ticked up following stronger-than-expected Chinese data. The dollar slumped after the minister was reported as saying the Japanese currency has weakened by more than the government expected. Since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office Dec. 26, the yen has lost 9% against the dollar. There was some confusion though as to the wording Finance Minister Tara Aso used. He was initially reported as saying the yen's weakening to a level of Y90 to the dollar was "unexpected" but an official said he meant it was "fast-paced". Nevertheless, by the middle of Europe's session, the dollar was Y92.50, down from its two-year and nine-month high of Y94.07 Wednesday. Undoubtedly, the theme of protectionism and "currency wars" will emerge as a theme at next week's Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Moscow. Meanwhile, the euro struggled to regain losses it suffered Thursday after the European Central Bank cited the currency's recent strength as a risk for the euro-zone economy. The comments, made by ECB President Mario Draghi, surprised the market. "After a year of historically low volatility across many currencies, this new year has seen larger trading ranges and higher volatility from what seems to be an abundance of official comments that are often contradictory. Voila, volatility has risen. Yesterday, it was ECB President Draghi's second press conference in a row that caught markets wrong-footed. Today, it was Japan Finance Minister Aso's turn," said Brown Brothers Harriman in a note. Stocks maintained their gains in Europe and oil prices were up, largely helped by a decent round of Chinese economic data. China's trade surplus narrowed slightly in January to $29.2 billion from a $31.6 billion surplus in December, but exports and imports both showed robust growth despite a still-sluggish global economy. The data were also stronger than the median $26.6 billion forecast by economists polled in a Wall Street Journal survey. In addition, China's Consumer Price Index rose 2% in January from a year earlier, slower than December's 2.5% rise but in line with expectations. In corporate news, PSA Peugeot-Citroen shares had a roller-coaster ride between sharp gains and steep losses after a French minister said the government is considering taking a stake in the auto maker. Late Thursday, Peugeot said it would write down the value of its automotive and financial assets in Europe by EUR4.13 billion ($5.53 billion). Telecom Italia SpA shares fell after it failed to meet its 2012 targets on gross operating profit and net debt reduction. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA shares tumbled after it was notified by Boeing Co. that a delivery of 787 Dreamliners is at risk due to the investigation into incidents with the planes. Items that will draw the market's attention later Friday include U.S. trade data and the continued wrangling over the EU budget. A two-day EU summit was continuing in Brussels as leaders attempted to thrash out a deal on the 2014-2020 budget. European officials are expected to cap the EU budget at EUR960 billion over seven years, according to reports. There are divergences between hawks in the U.K. and Germany and southern European countries such as Italy on how deep the EU pockets for spending should be. Earnings from Moody's Corp. and AOL Inc. are among reports in the spotlight. U.S. stock futures were flat ahead of the opening bell.

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