The U.S. dollar was higher against the Japanese yen in Asian trading Monday, though it slipped back from its surge in New York last week. The dollar was trading at 108.01 yen Monday afternoon in Tokyo, up 0.50 yen from late Friday but below the 108.19 yen it bought in New York later that day. The U.S. currency had climbed in New York Friday as investors grew more confident about the outlook for the short term, but the rally had somewhat worn off in Tokyo. "The dollar surged Friday for no good reason, so market players are feeling a bit nervous about going along with the trend too soon," said, head of Tokyo foreign exchange trading at Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank. "But market sentiment has definitely turned dollar-bullish after its rise above 108.00 yen, so traders will start buying dollars in earnest" with more attention paid to robust U.S. economic fundamentals, Iba added. In other currencies, the euro fell to US$1.2557 from US$1.2646 late Friday in Tokyo and to 135.66 yen from 135.81 yen. Traders said the euro was unable to recoup its sharp losses from Friday as a big electoral defeat for German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party over the weekend and an upcoming French referendum on the European Union constitution highlighted the political risks of buying the single European currency. Against other regional currencies, the dollar was mostly lower, including the