By Hiroyuki Kachi 
 

The dollar was almost flat against the yen and the euro in Asian trade Friday, as investors avoided taking large positions given the lack of fresh trading cues and ahead of the three-day weekend in Japan.

Around 0450 GMT, the greenback was at Y119.99, compared with Y119.94 late Thursday in New York. Japanese financial markets will be closed on Monday for health and sports day.

The U.S. currency weakened overnight against a basket of rival currencies after the dovish tone in minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting that showed a group of central bankers remained hesitant to raise short-term rates while inflation is low.

"The number of investors betting on the Fed's inaction this year is increasing," said Koji Fukaya, chief executive at FPG Securities. "But we still don't know. We still have to see (U.S.) jobs data twice this year," said Mr. Fukaya.

In the Asian session, the greenback remained directionless within a tight range against the yen and the euro.

"I think investors find it difficult to make moves, as stock prices are not moving much," said Yasuaki Amatatsu, senior analyst of global markets research at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.6% midday. The Shanghai Composite Index was last trading 0.7% higher.

The U.S. currency was largely flat against the euro, which rose slightly to $1.1285 midday from $1.1276 late Thursday. The common currency was at Y135.39 from Y135.27.

"Investors can't sell or buy [the euro]" based on the European Central Bank minutes overnight, which they read as dovish but which were largely in line with previous remarks from ECB officials, said Mr. Amatatsu at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

The minutes of its September policy meeting showed the ECB officials determined that downside risks to inflation intensified over the summer, though they needed more time to gauge the impact of financial-market volatility and slower growth in China.

At its Sept. 3 meeting, ECB officials raised the possibility that they would beef up their EUR60 billion ($68 billion) a month bond-buying program.

The WSJ Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.09% at 87.42.

 
Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 00:50 EST / 0450 GMT 
 
                           Latest       Previous   %Chg    Daily    Daily   %Chg 
Dollar Rates                               Close            High      Low  12/31 
 
USD/JPY Japan           119.98-99      119.93-94  +0.04   120.01   119.84  +0.22 
EUR/USD Euro            1.1284-87      1.1276-79  +0.07   1.1292   1.1268  -6.72 
GBP/USD U.K.            1.5368-70      1.5347-49  +0.14   1.5375   1.5344  -1.34 
USD/CHF Switzerland     0.9658-62      0.9659-63  -0.01   0.9676   0.9655  -2.85 
USD/CAD Canada          1.2961-66      1.3014-19  -0.41   1.3023   1.2963 +11.55 
AUD/USD Australia       0.7285-89      0.7257-61  +0.39   0.7290   0.7248 -10.82 
NZD/USD New Zealand     0.6678-84      0.6665-71  +0.18   0.6683   0.6656 -14.30 
 
Euro Rate 
 
EUR/JPY Japan           135.40-44      135.22-26  +0.13   135.44   135.06  -6.57 
 
Source: Tullett Prebon 
 

Write to Hiroyuki Kachi at Hiroyuki.Kachi@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2015 01:37 ET (05:37 GMT)