Dollar lower against yen on profit-taking

The dollar was lower against the yen in quiet holiday trading on Thursday, with profit-taking trimming the greenback's gains from earlier this week.

 The dollar moved in an extremely tight Y104.25-Y104.49 range on Dec. 25 and in a Y84.60-Y84.96 range on Christmas Day in 2012. 

The dollar fell to as low as Y120.06 at midday but the downside remained well supported.

"With a lack of fresh cues, the dollar will continue to lack the momentum to test its upside," said Mizuho's Mr. Yoshii, adding that the greenback will likely move in a Y119-Y121 over the short term.

In other currency trading, the euro was at $1.2218 from $1.2203 and at Y146.73 from Y147.15.

The WSJ Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.15% at 82.59.