Yen holds steady against dollar in early trade

The yen held close this morning to last Friday's one-month high against the dollar with Japan's cyclically sensitive economy seen having most to gain from a speedy global upturn.

Data showed Japan's trade surplus rose a hefty 7.3 per cent in July from the same month last year, reinforcing the view that recovering US consumer demand was helping Japan's exporters.

But few players were eager to buy up the yen further due to wariness that Japanese authorities may intervene to sell the yen.

Some said they thought the Bank of Japan might have stepped in on Friday when the yen firmed beyond 117.30 per dollar for the first time in over a month.

The dollar stood at 117.55 yen in early European trade today.