Investing.com - The dollar rebounded off an 18-month low against the yen on Friday and held steady against the euro as sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting overshadowed upbeat U.S. data.
USD/JPY rose 0.39% to 108.63, still close to Thursday’s 18-month low of 107.66.
The greenback came under strong pressure against the yen after the minutes from the Fed's March policy meeting on Wednesday indicated that the central bank is unlikely to raise interest rates before June due to concerns over global economic growth.
The minutes showed that "a number" of policymakers believe that headwinds to growth will probably persist and that many urged caution about raising rates.
Markets shrugged off a report by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday saying that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 2 decreased by 9,000 to 267,000 from the previous week’s total of 276,000.
Analysts expected jobless claims to fall by 6,000 to 270,000 last week.
Earlier Friday, data showed that Japan’s current account surplus widened to ¥2.43 trillion in February from ¥0.52 trillion the previous month. Analysts had expected the current account surplus to widen to ¥2.01 trillion in February.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1375, after hitting six-month highs of 1.1454 on Thursday.
Sentiment in the single currency remained vulnerable after senior European Central Bank officials reiterated on Thursday that they are prepared to inject more stimulus if necessary.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 94.55, just off Thursday’s six- month low of 94.03.