The yen pushed higher Thursday while the euro fell back below the $1.30 line after a week-long trip above that level, as a key industrial indicator showed continuing recession in the eurozone.
Markit's purchasing managers index for the region fell for the eighth straight month in September, disappointing hopes for a recovery.
At 2100 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.2966, down from $1.3049 late Wednesday.
"The euro sold off on Thursday as the economic docket showed a deepening recession in Europe, and the single currency may likely face additional headwinds over the near term as the debt crisis continues to drag on the real economy," said David Song at DailyFX.
The dollar's strength was mitigated by glum data releases on the US economy: an unimproved weekly jobless claims figure, a slight fall in the Conference Board's leading economic indicators index, and a continued negative reading in the Federal Reserve's economic activity index for the Philadelphia region.
The yen rose again, despite Wednesday'sannouncement by the Bank of Japan of new stimulus aimed in part at keeping the currency lower.
The dollar slipped to 78.24 yen from 78.36 yen Wednesday, while the euro bought 101.46 yen, compared with 102.24 yen.
The higher yen was "not a surprise after the market adjusted to the BoJ's latest monetary easing", National Australia Bank said in a note.
"Japan's asset-purchase program doesn't match its peers. On the currency front Japan is going to have to ramp up policy in a major way before it has a sustainable impact on the Japanese yen," it said.
The British pound was slightly slower at $1.6213, while the dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc, rising to 0.9331 francs from 0.9274 francs.