Dollar trading ends mixed against major currencies

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against most of major currencies Friday. The dollar dropped sharply versus the yen after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said the yen's recent depreciation has been too fast. The dollar/yen rate fell from a more-than-two-year high as Aso' s remarks raised speculations that Japan may slow down the pace of its easing measures. In addition, it's reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is facing opposition from within his own cabinet to appointing a new Bank of Japan governor who will expand monetary easing policies. Meanwhile, the dollar continued rising against the euro, affected by the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's comments Thursday that there were downside risks to inflation stemming from weaker economic activity and the rise of the euro exchange rate, indicating the central bank may not withdraw stimulus measures soon. The ECB also kept the bench market interest rates unchanged after its policy meeting on Thursday. On the economic front, the U.S. trade deficit in December dropped 21 percent to 38.5 billion U.S. dollars from the prior month, the narrowest in nearly three years, the Commerce Department said Friday. The figure also hinted the U.S. government could upgrade its gross domestic product in the fourth quarter, with its advance reading standing at an annual rate of minus 0.1 percent. In late New York trading, the euro slid to 1.3362 dollars from 1.3403 dollars of the previous session and the British pound climbed to 1.5797 from 1.5712 dollars. The dollar rose to 0.9172 Swiss francs from 0.9179 and went up to 1.0028 Canadian dollars from 0.9981. The dollar bought 92.84 Japanese yen, compared with 93.54 in the previous session.