TOKYO: The dollar resumed its uptrend in Asian trade Tuesday after sinking in New York on comments from US Federal Reserve officials that suggested the bank would not immediately end its stimulus programme.
In morning Tokyo trade, the US unit sat at 97.88 yen, from 97.74 yen in New York late Monday, while the euro eased slightly to $1.3119 from $1.3124.
The single currency fetched 128.49 yen from 128.28 yen.
The dollar has risen against other currencies since Fed chief Ben Bernanke signalled last week it was likely to scale back the bond-buying scheme in the coming months.
But Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, released a statement and held a conference call with reporters to argue that it would continue the bond-buying until the jobless rate fell further.
And Dallas Federal Reserve chairman Richard Fisher said the central bank was not exiting its stimulus, only scaling it back.
Investors are keeping a close eye on China after authorities there refused to pump fresh money into the financial markets despite a growing cash crunch that is squeezing banks.
The People's Bank of China's decision to leave lenders to fight for themselves sparked a plunge in Shanghai's stock markets as investors fretted about the health of the world's second-biggest economy.
The euro won a degree of support from the German Ifo economic institute's business confidence survey, which edged higher in June, showing businesses in Europe's top economy were increasingly optimistic about the future.
However, London-based Capital Economics warned that "the survey is far from perfect as a guide to GDP growth and has pointed to several 'false dawns' in the past".
It added: "While the German economy does appear to have some upward momentum, it is unlikely to be strong enough to drive the eurozone as a whole out of recession in the near future."
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