The dollar was steady on Friday after data showed U.S. inflation remained sticky but easing gradually, keeping alive the chance of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in June, while the yen slid back to the key 150 per dollar level. The dollar was on the front foot on Wednesday, pinning the yen near its lowest in decades though the heightened threat of currency intervention by Tokyo capped further declines in the Japanese currency. The yen was last at 151.585 per dollar, languishing near last month's slump to 34-year lows of 151.975 in the wake of the Bank of Japan's historic policy shift. The dollar , which on Tuesday touched a nearly five-month high of 105.10 against a basket of currencies, was last steady at 104.76. "I think the dollar will hold up pretty well in the near term, and that will be a headwind for the other major currencies."

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Persons: Morgan Stanley, Koichi Sugisaki, Sterling, Carol Kong, CBA's Organizations: Federal Reserve, Bank of, Ministry of Finance, U.S ., U.S, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Traders, Fed, New Locations: Tokyo, Japan, U.S, CBA's Kong, New Zealand