TOKYO: The dollar eased against the yen on Wednesday as investors await a key US jobs report later this week.
In Tokyo, the greenback slipped to 119.68 yen from 119.74 yen in New York, coming off levels above 120 yen earlier Tuesday. The euro was at $1.1166 from $1.1178 in US trade.
Traders see the dollar as "top heavy" around 120 yen, a bank dealer told Jiji Press news agency, while another currency dealer said it was "difficult to build large positions" ahead of the US employment figures.
The data later this week will supply the next clue about the state of the world's top economy, and the Fed's timeline for an interest rate hike, widely expected by mid-year.
In other trading, the euro slipped to 133.61 yen from 133.85 yen ahead of a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.
The ECB council will unveil the details of the bond purchase programme it is embarking on later this month.
The Chinese yuan remained weak in the wake of the central bank's interest rate cut on Saturday.
The unit was quoted at 6.2719 against the dollar, stronger than 6.2766 in New York but still down from 6.2650 on Friday before the 0.25 percentage point cut was announced.
The Australian dollar fetched 78.17 US cents, slightly down from 78.35 cents on Tuesday after the country's central bank left interest rates unchanged.
Official data Wednesday showed that Australia's economy remained soft in the fourth quarter of 2014, fuelling expectations of further rate cuts.
The economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 0.5 percent in the three months to December, with 2.5 percent expansion over all of last year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
The dollar was mostly higher against other Asia-Pacific currencies.
It rose to 1,097.19 South Korean won from 1,096.02 won on Tuesday, and to 12,973.00 Indonesian rupiah from 12,943.00 rupiah.
It also climbed to 32.36 Thai baht from 32.35 baht, to Tw$31.39 from Tw$31.36, and to Sg$1.3638 from Sg$1.3627.
The greenback also firmed to 61.85 Indian rupees from 61.84 rupees while staying unchanged at 44.07 Philippine pesos.
The Chinese yuan fetched 19.09 yen against 19.06 yen.
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