Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the euro and climbed higher against the yen on Friday, as markets continued to digest comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and as sentiment on the Japanese currency remained fragile.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1294.
The euro recovered from sharp losses posted on Thursday after ECB President Draghi said the bank stands ready to use “all instruments available,” including further interest rate cuts to ensure the inflation rate returns to its target.
Draghi also said that the risks to the euro zone economy remain “tilted to the downside” and warned that inflation could turn negative again in the coming months. But he added that the ECB is still confident that inflation will rise back toward its target of just below 2%.
The comments came after the ECB held the benchmark interest rate at a record low zero, in a widely anticipated decision.
USD/JPY advanced 0.77% to trade at 110.31, the highest since April 6.
The yen remained under pressure amid speculation the Bank of Japan could announce further easing measures at its policy meeting next week.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated on Wednesday that it is prepared to ease monetary policy further in order to reach its inflation target.
Meanwhile, investors continued to focus on the oil market, as prices remained close to five-month highs on Friday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, held steady at 94.63.