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Dollar in narrow ranges

Tokyo - The dollar stayed in a narrow band in thin holiday trading on Christmas Eve on Friday, with investors leaning toward the higher-yielding US currency, analysts said.

The dollar stood at ¥83.01, up slightly from ¥82.91 in New York on Thursday. The euro traded at $1.3127 and at ¥108.99, edging up from $1.3118 and ¥108.83 in New York on Thursday.

The dollar was generally buoyant as players preferred higher-yielding currencies, amid expected gains for US Treasury yields, Daiwa Institute of Research chief forex strategist Yuji Kameoka said in a note to clients.

But major market moves were seen as unlikely with many investors already on year-end holidays, analysts said.

Growing hopes for a US economic recovery were also encouraging investors to return to the dollar, analysts said.

The extension of the George W. Bush-era tax cuts in the United States should help consumer spending, boosting the recovery and supporting the dollar, Kameoka said.

But others speculated about a possible fall in the dollar after the unit gained steadily in recent days.

Continued fiscal debt worries in the eurozone spelled uncertainty going forward, said Yuichiro Harada, senior dealer at Mizuho Corporate Bank.

The market was becoming increasingly volatile due to the smaller number of players still active during the holiday season, he added.

The greenback lost ground against other Asian currencies.

It fell to $1.3022 Singapore dollars from $1.3053 on Thursday, to 44.02 Philippine pesos from 44.12, to 9 030.00 Indonesian rupiah from 9 038.00 and to 30.14 Thai baht from 30.15.

It was unchanged at $29.82 Taiwan dollars.

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