TOKYO: The dollar edged down against the yen on Thursday, while Singapore tightened monetary policy and investors adjusted positions following the euro's recent surge, analysts said.
The euro stood at $1.4493 and 121.26 yen, rising from $1.4440 and 120.98 yen in New York Wednesday.
The US unit rose on President Barack Obama's announcement to cut the US deficit by $4 trillion, but the dollar-buying sentiment was short-lived.
The dollar was at 83.65 yen, off from 83.79.
"The dollar/yen is still in the middle of (downward) adjustments after its recent rally ahead of a slew of US indicators due later Thursday and Friday," said Kuniyuki Hirai, a foreign exchange division manager at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
Some analysts see the yen strengthening further as increasingly pessimistic views over the global economy reduces risk appetite to induce unwinding of recent yen selling.
The dollar also faced pressure in part due to Singapore's stronger-than-expected first quarter gross domestic product data, dealers said.
The Singapore dollar briefly rallied to a record high against its US counterpart after the Monetary Authority of Singapore tightened monetary policy in a bid to stave off inflation fears.
The US dollar fell to a low of S$1.2453, from S$1.2534 before the MAS decision, but has since recovered to trade at S$1.2481, as dealers viewed the tightening as less aggressive than expected.
The euro may face downward pressure in coming sessions if investors' attention shifts to European sovereign debt issues, said Daisaku Ueno, chief analyst at Gaitame.Com Research Institute.
The speculation stemming from a German weekly Die Zeit report Wednesday that Greece may have to slash its debt liability "raised concerns that holders of Greek debt such as European financial institutions may be hurt", he said.
The European Commission has called the report "pure and wild speculation".
The greenback was mixed against other Asian currencies.
It fell to 1,088.30 South Korean won 1,088.55 on Wednesday and to Tw$28.98 from 29.07. The US unit rose to 43.24 Philippine pesos from 43.23 and to 8,667 Indonesian rupiah from 8,659 while it remained unchanged at 30.14 Thai baht.
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