TOKYO: The yen rose against the dollar Wednesday as a recent sell-off in the unit ran out of steam following mixed US economic data, while Japan's top central banker raised concerns about its weakness.
In Tokyo, the greenback weakened to 117.76 yen from 117.97 yen in New York.
The euro was also lower at $1.2471 and 146.94 yen compared with $1.2473 and 147.18 yen in the US, where it had rallied on news that Germany had narrowly averted falling into a recession.
The US Commerce Department said Tuesday that third-quarter growth came in at 3.9 percent, up from a previous estimate of 3.5 percent and easily beating expectations for 3.2 percent.
The figures are the latest showing the world's number one economy is on a healthy recovery track, while those in the eurozone and Japan struggle. However, the result was offset by figures showing consumer confidence dipped in November.
On Tuesday, BoJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda said policymakers were wary of the impact of the yen's sharp decline on the economy, after it sunk to multi-year lows in reaction to the bank's ramped-up stimulus announced on October 31.
On Wednesday, a member of the BoJ's policy board defended the timing of the central bank's extra stimulus, saying it was key to hitting an inflation target.
"It was necessary to give first priority to securing the path toward a 2.0 inflation target by additional measures," Sayuri Shirai told a business audience in Hiroshima, adding that "by not acting, the BoJ might have risked its credibility".
Analysts said the dollar's upward trajectory on the yen would likely slow for now.
"There is going to be a limit to the dollar's rise, and at some point the currency markets will reach a consolidation point," said Hajime Kitano, Japan equity strategist at Barclays.
The "dollar-yen pair may be poised for a pullback soon", he told Dow Jones Newswires.
In Europe, Germany released figures showing the eurozone's biggest economy expanded 0.1 percent in July-September thanks to higher household and government spending.
The data, which comes a day after the first pick-up in business confidence for seven months, means it avoided a recession after shrinking 0.1 percent in the previous three months.
The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.
It weakened to 44.93 Philippine pesos from 44.97 pesos on Tuesday, to 32.80 Thai baht from 32.81 baht, and to Tw$30.88 from Tw$30.91.
The dollar also dropped to 61.84 Indian rupees from 61.92 rupees, to Sg$1.3003 from Sg$1.3028, and to 1,107.07 South Korean won from 1,111.88 won, while it edged up to 12,167 Indonesian rupiah from 12,162 rupiah.
The Australian dollar fell to 85.33 US cents from 86.00 cents and the Chinese yuan was unchanged at 19.20 yen.
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