The ICE dollar index DXY -0.15% , which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, stood at 80.233, up slightly from 80.201 late Monday in North America.
The WSJ Dollar Index XX:BUXX -0.14% —which uses a slightly larger comparison basket than its ICE rival — rose to 71.90 from 71.64.
The dollar USDJPY -0.0737% bought ÂĄ94.24 in recent trade, up from ÂĄ93.42 on Monday, but off an intraday high above ÂĄ94.40. The dollar earlier Monday traded at its highest level versus the yen since April 2010.
In a statement, the G-7 officials said members won’t target exchange rates and reaffirmed a previous commitment to market-determined exchange rates. They said fiscal and monetary measures undertaken by governments would be aimed at domestic objectives. See: G-7 vows not to target exchange rates .
Strategists said that’s a green light for Japan to continue with aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus plans aimed at jump-starting its economy and ending deflation — measures that have also sent the yen plunging since last fall.
The euro EURUSD +0.3392% rose to $1.3435, up from $1.3424 late Monday.
The euro is regaining its footing after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi triggered a retreat by warning that policy makers would watch the shared currency’s appreciation for any sign it was impacting the euro-zone inflation outlook.
The yen came under pressure late Monday after U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Lael Brainard offered some support for Tokyo’s policies designed to end deflation in Japan, partly by weakening the yen.
“We support the effort to reinvigorate growth and to end deflation in Japan,” said Brainard, who is slated to represent the U.S. at this week’s meeting of finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies in Moscow.
Currency devaluation is currently a key topic for policy makers amid accusations and counter-accusations of nations seeking to weaken their money in order to boost their exports.
Movement among other top currency pairs was more modest, with Royal Bank of Canada Senior Currency Strategist Sue Trinh saying “trading was still muted in Asia, with most of the region still in observance of the Lunar New Year.”
The British pound GBPUSD -0.3391% slipped to $1.5609, down from $1.5658.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.0173% fell to $1.0249, compared with late Monday’s $1.0284.
William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt. Follow him on Twitter @wlwatts.
Michael Kitchen is Asia editor for MarketWatch and is based in Los Angeles.
