The Japanese yen rose strongly against the dollar on Friday after Japan's finance minister Taro Aso's said the currency's fall had been steeper than the government expected.

The Japanese ministry later shrugged off the comment. They said Aso had meant to say that the yen's sharp decline was 'fast paced' rather than a surprise.

Nevertheless, the remarks fuelled speculation that the Bank of Japan will not take aggressive policy action and sent the yen lower.

Against the yen, the dollar changed hands at a peak of ¥93.70 early Friday before later trading at ¥92.75 compared to ¥93.41 on Thursday.

The euro bought ¥123.93 compared to ¥125.32 the previous session.

The single currency was down against the dollar on Friday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said policy makers should keep an eye on the euro, for any signs that it is hurting the Eurozone's inflation outlook.

He added there are more negative risks than positive and said the exchange rate was key for growth and stability.

However Draghi also noted, the euro's recent ascent stemmed from fresh confidence in the single currency.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of six other currencies, rose to 80.234 from around 79.722 on Thursday.

The British pound rose to $1.5794 from $1.5697 previously.



CJ

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