The U.S. dollar inched higher in Asia trading hours on Thursday, gaining some traction against rivals ahead of a meeting of the world's top finance ministers and central bankers. The ICE dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, traded at 80.109, up modestly from 80.082 in North American trading late Wednesday. The WSJ dollar index , a benchmark for the greenback's moves against a slightly wider basket of currencies, reached 71.61, up from 71.57 in late trading the previous day. “Headline risk from the Group of 7/Group of 20 continues to dominate, probably keeping a number of market participants on the sidelines," said BNP Paribas currency strategist Vassili Serebriakov. Earlier this week, the yen gyrated after comments from the Group of Seven major economies were interpreted one way and then another by the markets. The yen initially sank against other major currencies after a statement from G-7 officials was interpreted as a tacit endorsement of Japanese policies aimed at weakening the yen. The Japanese currency subsequently rebounded after an unidentified G-7 official was quoted in a news report as saying markets had misinterpreted the joint statement. The official said the G-7 was concerned about excessive volatility by the yen and that Japan would be a major focus at the G-20 meeting in Moscow on Friday and Saturday. “There is scope for the G-20 to add to the G-7 statement, but we suspect the core of the message — no targeting of exchange rates — will remain intact," Serebriakov said. Against the yen, the dollar traded at ¥93.49 Thursday, a touch higher than its ¥93.42 level in late trading Wednesday. Earlier in the day, gross domestic product data showed that Japan's economy chalked up a third quarter of contraction in the October-December period, shrinking 0.1%. The Bank of Japan, however, said later in the day that the domestic economy now appears to have stopped weakening. The euro edged down to $1.3437, from $1.3448 late Wednesday. Euro-zone GDP figures were due out Thursday, and Crédit Agricole expects that the region's economy contracted by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter. Of the other majors, the British pound eased to $1.5522, down from $1.5542, and the Australian dollar traded at $1.0351, falling slightly from $1.0357. Marketwatch
