CNBC: Yen edges up vs dollar as Japan dismisses tax cut
The yen firmed against a broadly weaker dollar on Thursday after Japanese officials dismissed a media report that Tokyo is considering cuts in corporate tax.
A lack of clarity on when the Federal Reserve might start trimming its stimulus also weighed on the dollar while the euro drew support from signs of growth in the currency bloc.
The dollar was down 0.1 percent near 98 yen, off a low of 97.58 yen. Resistance was cited at the 55-day moving average of 98.42 yen.
Japan's chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga and Finance Minister Taro Aso played down a story in the Nikkei business daily earlier this week that the government was considering cutting the corporate tax rate.
Losses against the yen dragged on the dollar index. It was last down 0.1 percent at 81.509.
Meanwhile, the euro zone's emergence from recession, confirmed on Wednesday, has narrowed the yield differential which has favored the dollar over the single currency due to expectations the Fed was moving away from its easy policy.
The 10-year yield premium offered by U.S. debt stood at 89 basis points, down from more than 100 in July. The euro rose 0.2 percent at $1.3288.
