Dollar mostly ticks higher in subdued trading; higher vs yen, but dips against euro

Dollar mostly edges higher in subdued trading

NEW YORK — The dollar ticked mostly higher in thin trading Friday in New York after a U.S. government report showed a slightly improved jobs market.

The dollar rose to 84.15 Japanese yen from 83.90 yen late Thursday, still hovering just above a 15-year low of 83.35 yen from Wednesday.

Japan’s government said Friday that second-quarter growth wasn’t as weak as first thought. A strengthening yen cuts into the profits of Japan’s big exporters, which could undermine its recovery.

The Japanese government also on Friday released details of an $11 billion stimulus package it had announced last month, which analysts had criticized as insufficient to counter the rapidly strengthening yen and weakening growth.

The yen has soared against the dollar and other major currencies this summer as a string of weak data in the U.S. raised fears of a double-dip recession in the world’s biggest economy.

The dollar was also mostly higher against the European currencies Friday. The British pound fell to $1.5354 from $1.5430 and the U.S. currency firmed to 1.0192 Swiss francs from 1.0156 Swiss francs. The euro, used by 16 European countries, edged up to $1.2718 from $1.2700.

A report earlier this week reawakened concerns about the strength of European banks that have invested heavily in the bonds of indebted European countries. More reports came Thursday that Germany’s Deutsche Bank was considering raising up to euro9 billion in a stock sale. The bank declined to comment.

Talk that Deutsche Bank, one of Europe’s largest banks, was weighing a big capital raise came as investors expect that new global banking standards will force banks to maintain higher capital levels.

In other trading Friday, the dollar slipped to 1.0354 Canadian dollars from 1.0332 Canadian dollars. It was also slightly lower versus the Australian and New Zealand dollars and the currencies of developing countries in Asia.

Against a basket of six heavily traded currencies, the dollar rose 0.03 percent.