The dollar softened to around ¥105.20 in Tokyo trading Thursday.
At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥105.21, down from ¥105.41 at the same time Tuesday. The euro was at $1.1737, down from $1.1741, and at ¥123.49, down from ¥123.78.
After falling below ¥105.10 in overnight trading overseas due to stalls in negotiations on a coronavirus relief package in the United States and on Brexit between the U.K. and the European Union, the dollar rose back close to ¥105.30 at one point around midmorning thanks to buying by Japanese importers for settlement purposes.
The greenback later hovered around ¥105.20 while searching for direction.
Pointing out that the ¥105 line is seen as a psychologically important threshold for the dollar, an official at a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said the U.S. currency’s downside is “solid.”
Transactions lacked vigor with investors “refraining from substantially reviewing their portfolios as the presidential election day looms,” a Japanese bank official said.