The dollar headed for a fourth weekly gain on Friday, pushing the yen to a 10-month low, as traders dialled back bets on how quickly the Bank of Japan might raise interest rates and how soon the Federal Reserve will cut them.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday there was a high chance for easy monetary conditions to persist even after the central bank ends negative interest rate policy, which the market expects to happen as early as next month.

The yen was little changed at 149.42 per dollar after trading at 149.575 earlier, its weakest since Nov. 27. It is heading for a 0.68% slide this week, having fallen in value in five out of the last six weeks.

The dollar index ticked up slightly to 104.19, having gained 0.1% on Thursday after data pointed to the resilience of the U.S. labour market, further crushing expectations for an early rate cut from the Fed.

For the week, the dollar index has climbed 0.2%, getting off to a strong start after blowout monthly payrolls data last Friday and a hawkish tilt from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a "60 Minutes" interview aired Sunday.

The next major scheduled U.S. data release is January's Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation reading on Tuesday.

Traders have all but ruled out a cut at the Fed's next policy meeting in March, versus a chance of 65.9% a month ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

The euro was little changed at $1.0773, while sterling held around $1.2619. Both currencies have been relatively resilient, with officials from the European Central Bank and Bank of England pushing back against market wagers on early rate reductions.

The Aussie dollar was a touch stronger at $0.6505.

Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin rose 3% to around $46,688, on course for a weekly gain of 9.3%, its best performance in two months.

Source: Reuters