The dollar was slightly higher against the euro and the yen from earlier levels in early Friday trading in Asia as testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary John Snow produced little news on the Chinese currency. Speculation that the yuan's peg to the dollar may be loosened -- likely lifting the yuan -- tends to strengthen other Asian currencies versus the dollar. The dollar was trading at 108.93 yen in Tokyo late morning, up 0.18 yen from late Thursday in Tokyo and above the 108.89 yen it bought in New York later that day. The euro fell to $1.2029 from $1.2086 late Thursday and to 131.06 yen from 131.37 yen. The dollar was mostly higher against other regional currencies early Friday, rising against the Singapore dollar, Philippine peso and Indonesia rupiah from previous day levels. At a Senate hearing on U.S.-China relations, Greenspan and Snow said little about the yuan to keep the dollar's drop going into Asian trading. In recent sessions, anticipation about their comments had tended to send the dollar lower. In his remarks, Greenspan urged Congress to find a "less destructive" outlet for its frustration over China's trade and exchange-rate policies, saying a proposal to slap tariffs on Chinese imports would have "extraordinarily negative" consequences for the world economy. In New York Thursday, the dollar lifted versus the euro but didn't gain against the yen, which generally gets a boost from market focus on the Chinese currency. The dollar was also buoyed by the U.S. Labor Department report Thursday that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 last week to 314,000. Analysts had been expecting a decline of just 3,000. The dollar was also up against the British pound, which fell to $1.8154 from $1.8221. The United States' trade deficit swelled to a record $617.6 billion last year, including a $161.9 billion deficit just with China, the highest ever with a single country. The euro started lower Thursday amid speculation the European Central Bank might follow the Swedish Riksbank decision Tuesday to cut interest rates to 1.5 percent. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said afterward the rate for the euro zone, at 2 percent, is at historically low levels. Lower rates can boost economic growth by encouraging borrowing and investment, but can weaken currencies by reducing returns on fixed-income investments.