The dollar moved mostly in a tight range slightly below 108 yen in Tokyo trading Friday.

At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥107.80-80, almost flat from ¥107.81-82 at the same time Thursday. The euro was at $1.0828-0829, down from $1.0872-0873, and at ¥116.73-74, down from ¥117.23-23.

The dollar firmed above ¥108 in the early morning thanks to growing hopes for the development of an effective drug to treat novel coronavirus patients in the United States, traders said. But later the greenback lost steam and went sideways.

The dollar-yen pair lacked vigor with investors retreating to the sidelines amid a dearth of trading incentives, other market sources said.

"Technical position-squaring selling increased as the dollar breached the ¥108 line," a currency broker said.