The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Tokyo

The dollar moved narrowly against other major currencies in Asia on Friday as currency players said they were waiting for this weekend's meeting of the Group of Seven richest nations.

The dollar was quoted at 107.37 yen in Tokyo late morning, compared with 107.48 yen in New York late Thursday.

The euro was changing hands at 1.4483 dollars, hardly changed from 1.4479 dollars in New York late Thursday. It edged down to 155.48 yen from 155.70 yen.

"Although markets are not expecting decisive action, all eyes are focused on the meeting since it is an important event," said Masaki Fukui, senior market economist at the forex division of Mizuho Corporate Bank.

The dollar received a boost after European Central Bank (ECB) president Jean-Claude Trichet appeared to soften his previous hawkish stance on rates.

The ECB left its interest rates unchanged overnight as widely expected. But Trichet said risks to growth in the eurozone were on the rise, fuelling speculation that the ECB will have to cut rates later this year despite rising inflation.

Currency traders largely discounted worse-than-expected machinery orders data for Japan which showed a 3.2 percent drop in December, much sharper than the 0.8 percent drop expected by the market.

Investors were "not paying attention to the data since there are no trigger factors that would force Japan to change its monetary policy," Fukui said.