By Alexander Martin 
 

The dollar was little changed against the yen during Asian hours Monday amid subdued, holiday-thin trading and a lack of cues.

As of 0450 GMT, the greenback was unchanged at Y119.52 from Y119.52 in late New York trading Friday.

"There aren't many market participants this week with many overseas investors beginning to take their Christmas vacations," said Junichi Ishikawa, market analyst at IG Securities in Tokyo.

"In a situation like this, the focus will be on whether the recent improvement in risk appetite will continue," he said.

The dollar has strengthened against rival currencies in recent days, benefiting from signals from the Federal Reserve over the raising of interest rates next year.

On Wednesday, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the central bank could raise U.S. interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis as early as its April policy-setting meeting. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank have been taking measures to ease policy in their battle to stimulate growth and ward off deflation, moves that have weakened their respective currencies.

The Fed chief's comments served to restore some calm in markets riled by the fall in oil prices and the meltdown in the Russian ruble, Mr. Ishikawa said.

But Daisuke Karakama, chief market economist at Mizuho Bank, said the pair could fall again if risk-aversion sets in, rekindled by Russia crisis fears and other geopolitical risks.

"That could see yen-short positions unwind, triggering a large fall in the dollar/yen," he said.

The euro was at $1.2242 from $1.2230 and at Y146.35 from Y146.15.

The WSJ Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of currencies, was down 0.11% at 82.50.

 
Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 00:50 EST / 0450 GMT 
 
 
                           Latest       Previous  %Chg    Daily    Daily   %Chg 
Dollar Rates                             Close             High     Low    12/31 
 
USD/JPY Japan           119.52-53      119.52-53  -0.01   119.55   119.32 +13.50 
EUR/USD Euro            1.2243-46      1.2227-30  +0.13   1.2250   1.2223 -10.88 
GBP/USD U.K.            1.5643-48      1.5623-28  +0.13   1.5647   1.5621  -5.52 
USD/CHF Switzerland     0.9826-30      0.9839-43  -0.13   0.9845   0.9821 +10.06 
USD/CAD Canada         1.1597-602      1.1602-07  -0.04   1.1617   1.1598  +9.22 
AUD/USD Australia       0.8157-61      0.8141-45  +0.20   0.8167   0.8131  -8.51 
NZD/USD New Zealand     0.7747-53      0.7745-51  +0.03   0.7756   0.7714  -5.73 
 
Euro Rate 
 
EUR/JPY Japan           146.33-37      146.13-17  +0.14   146.38   145.97  +1.08 
Source: ICAP PLC 
 

Write to Alexander Martin at alexander.martin@wsj.com