TOKYO: The dollar held steady in Asia Thursday with currency markets little moved by weak Japanese trade data and upbeat manufacturing figures out of China.
In afternoon Tokyo trade, the dollar fetched 101.45 yen, against 101.48 yen in New York late Wednesday.
The euro bought $1.3459 and 136.55 yen, against $1.3462 and 136.62 yen.
Regional stock markets rose as an index of Chinese manufacturing activity hit an 18-month high in July, boosting hopes for the world's number two economy, while concerns over the Ukraine crisis eased.
"It's hard to say the risk aversion mood is growing," said Mizuho Securities chief FX strategist Kengo Suzuki.
The yen tends to gain ground during times of uncertainty and turmoil, but markets moved little after fresh Japanese data showed the country's trade deficit ballooned to a record in the first half of the year.
The figures were likely to ramp up pressure on the Bank of Japan for fresh easing measures, which would tend to weaken the yen.
The British pound dipped to $1.7032 from $1.7040 in New York late Wednesday.
The decline came despite Bank of England governor Mark Carney telling a conference that the central bank needs to start raising interest rates in the coming months, even as he emphasised there is no "preset course" for doing so.
"The UK economy has been growing rapidly," Carney said. "As the economy normalises, (the) bank rate will need to start to rise in order to achieve the inflation target."
But he added that bank policymakers have "no preset course and the timing of any increases in interest rates will be determined by the data".
Carney's remarks came as minutes of a July monetary policy meeting showed that BoE members unanimously agreed to keep the key interest rate at an all-time low of 0.50 percent.
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