TOKYO, Nov 29: The dollar edged up against the yen in Tokyo on Thursday after a key Japanese economics minister hinted the Bank of Japan (BoJ) should buy foreign debt, dealers said.

The greenback was quoted at 123.13-16 yen at 5:00 pm (0800 GMT), up from 123.09 yen in New York but down from 123.57-59 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday.

Dollar gains were limited due to a decline on Wall Street and a Federal Reserve report on the weakness of the US economy, said Naoya Murata, dealer at Sanwa Bank.

The survey released Wednesday said the US economy remained soft through mid-November.

Meanwhile, the euro bought 0.8862-65 dollars at 5:00 pm, against 0.8884 dollars in New York and 0.8848-50 dollars in Tokyo late Wednesday.

“Recently, the dollar performance has been closely related to the stock market,” said a dealer with a European bank in Singapore.

But the dealer expected the euro to be capped at the 0.8900 to 0.8920 dollars level.

Against the yen, the euro was quoted at 109.14, compared to 109.35 yen in New York and 109.32 in Tokyo Tuesday afternoon.

In late Singapore trade, the dollar weakened to 10,413 Indonesian rupiah from 10,490 on Wednesday, 1.8304 Singapore dollars from 1.8331 and 1,269.10 South Korean won from 1,272.40.

The greenback climbed to 34.4570 Taiwan dollars from 34.4365 and was steady at 52.025 Philippine pesos and 44.07 Thai baht.—AFP