The dollar remained mostly firm in Asia trading, led by the ongoing weakness in JPY with USD/JPY well bid and attempting to take out option strikes at 98.00. Highs of 97.97 were seen during the session with JPY weakness underpinned by a bearish outlook from S&P and a negative outlook from BOJ’s Noda. EUR/USD consolidated between 1.2706-1.2762 during Asian trading but deteriorating European economic conditions and Eastern European worries continue to cap EUR/USD which has been unable to sustain rallies above 1.2800 so far this week. The continued rise in the USD index, which appears poised to challenge the highs from this month, and from last November, are seen adding to the underlying supportive tone for the USD. AUD pivoted around 0.6500 after getting a bounce from better-than-expected Capex data while Kiwi consolidated around 0.5100 and the middle of the recent 0.50-0.52 range. Cable, which suffered a sharp fall on Wednesday, consolidated above 1.4200 in Asian trading. Gold, having been unable to sustain last week’s gain above 1,000, saw gold futures continued to fall, losing over $13 in Asia. Oil remained above $42 after Wednesday’s gains. Asian stock markets were mixed with some like the Nikkei, capped by profit-taking after early gains.