TOKYO: The dollar softened against the yen in light Tokyo trade Wednesday, following the Bank of Japan's decision to stand pat on any fresh monetary easing measures.
The greenback stood at 102.87 yen, from 102.94 yen in New York and well down from the 103.30 yen seen in Tokyo Tuesday.
And the euro was at 142.68 yen against 142.73 yen in US trade, also sharply lower than 143.30 yen earlier Tuesday in Asia. The single currency bought $1.3853 against $1.3863.
Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he saw "no need for now to make adjustments to monetary policy" after a two-day meeting.
"It was kind of expected but it is a confirmation from him that additional easing is not imminent," a senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo said.
However, analysts expect the bank is holding back until it can assess the impact of a sales tax increase that is due to take effect next month and which some warn could impact the country's economic recovery.
Nomura Securities said in a note to clients that they believed the BoJ would "will engage in additional monetary easing in July".
Also weighing on sentiment is the Ukraine crisis, while a worse-than-expected batch of trade and inflation data from China at the weekend has fuelled fears about a slowdown in the Asian economic giant.
Matthew Sherwood, head of investment market research at Perpetual in Sydney, told Dow Jones Newswires: "China has gone from being one of the saviours of the world to one of its weakest links."
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