TOKYO - The dollar slipped against the yen in Asia on Monday, weighed down by exporter selling, but its overall tone remained firm thanks to optimism about prospects for the US economy, dealers said.

The dollar eased to 92.79 yen in the Tokyo afternoon trade, down from 93.00 in New York late on Thursday, before the New Year holiday.

The euro fell to 1.4299 dollars from 1.4323 dollars, and to 132.58 yen from 133.26.

The dollar softened against the yen after Japanese exporters sold the greenback to settle their accounts after the holiday break, Shinkin Central Bank senior dealer Shinichi Hayashi told Dow Jones Newswires.

The dollar's outlook remained positive, however, on solid hopes for US economic recovery, he said.

The greenback had ended 2009 on an upbeat note in the wake of government data indicating that new US claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since July 2008.

The seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits in the week ending December 26 stood at 432,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 454,000, the US Labor Department said.

"The dollar will remain upbeat for a while, even if not sharply higher as domestic exporters are selling the currency," said Masatsugu Miyata, a foreign exchange dealer at Hachijuni Bank.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see the dollar test a higher level ahead of the upcoming economic data in the United States," he said.

Market players will closely watch US economic reports on manufacturing activity and December unemployment slated for release this week, dealers said.

"I think the US jobless data will improve and send the dollar higher," Miyata said.
The US jobless rate stood at 10.0 percent in November, down from 10.2 percent in October.

The dollar was softer against most Asian currencies, falling to 1,154.95 South Korean won from 1,160.29 on Thursday, to 33.28 Thai baht from 33.33, and to 9,345.00 Indonesian rupiah from 9,432.97.

It declined to 31.85 Taiwan dollars from 32.13 and to 1.4016 Singapore dollars from 1.4034, but rose to 46.10 Philippine pesos from 45.91.