The dollar was weaker around ¥112.40 in Tokyo trading late Friday, affected by U.S. President Donald Trump's comments Thursday showing concern about the dollar's strength.
At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥112.44-44, down from ¥112.96-97 at the same time Thursday. The euro was at $1.1640-1641, up from $1.607-1608, and at ¥130.89-89, down from ¥131.13-14.
In early trading, the dollar moved around ¥112.40 in an extension of its weakness seen in overnight trading overseas, where the greenback met with heavy selling after Trump expressed displeasure over a strong dollar in a U.S. television interview.
The U.S. currency rose to around ¥112.60 in midmorning trading, supported by real demand-backed purchases for settlement purposes, traders said.
After the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei stock average sank into negative territory later in the morning following the yuan's drop against the dollar, the U.S. currency traded around ¥112.20-30 in afternoon trading.
In late hours, the dollar firmed above ¥112.40 thanks to buybacks, traders said.
The dollar attracted repurchases versus the yen as market players were paying attention to its previous day's low of around ¥112.05 marked in overseas trading, an official of a foreign-exchange brokerage firm said.
"The dollar's topside is expected to be limited against the yen if the yuan falls further" and risk-averse sentiment strengthens, the official added.
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