The dollar appears likely to remain locked within a narrow range between 105 yen and 108 yen for some time.
Recent economic statistics have all pointed to a slowdown in U.S. economic growth. Much of the uptrend in consumer spending ran out of steam last month, while housing starts fell to their lowest level in nearly a year.
A string of economic indicators over the past weeks showed that credit-tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve has hit hard the sectors sensitive to ups and downs in bank lending rates, suggesting the robust pace of the U.S. economic growth is cooling.