The dollar rose against the yen but held near a two-year low against the euro after a Group of Seven source said there would be no new comment on currencies in the G7's communique later in the day.
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven richest nations are meeting in Washington at the annual spring meeting of the IMF and World Bank, making some traders nervous the group would endorse further dollar weakness to address trade imbalances.
A year ago, the dollar fell 7 per cent against the yen in a month after the G7 appeared to give the green light to a weaker dollar.
"I think the market was a little concerned that the G7 would address global imbalances and that would push the dollar weaker and the yen stronger. But it looks like there is nothing on that," said Ken Landon, global currency strategist at JP Morgan Chase in New York.
For several years the G7 has stuck to standard language in its post-meeting statements regarding currencies: excessive exchange rate volatility is undesirable. Last year, the G7 included an annex to its statement regarding global economic imbalances, but no new comments are expected this time around.
The G7 news yesterday helped the dollar reverse losses after a batch of weak US economic data, including a report suggesting consumers were growing pessimistic about the economy.
Around midday, the dollar traded at 119.33 yen, up 0.1 per cent but well above its session trough of 118.22 yen. The euro was up 0.4 per cent at 161.30 yen, near a record high of 161.45.
The euro changed hands at $1.3520, up 0.25 per cent and near a two-year peak at $1.3554.
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