The dollar continued its overnight losses against the Japanese yen in Asian trading Friday, as players anticipated U.S. data expected to underline pessimism about the American economy. The U.S. dollar was trading at 107.80 yen midafternoon in Tokyo, down 0.48 yen from late Thursday in Tokyo and below the 108.27 yen it bought in New York later that day. The euro fell to US$1.2257 from US$1.2268 late Thursday in Tokyo and to 132.46 yen from 132.84 yen. The dollar fell against the yen as traders sold the dollar on expectations that U.S. payroll data due later in the day will show a slowdown in jobs creation. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires on average expect nonfarm payrolls growth to have slowed to 185,000 in May from 274,000 the previous month. The dollar's decline follows its rally in recent sessions as the currency benefited from the loss of confidence in the euro after votes in France and the Netherlands rejected the European Union constitution. But the dollar's rally appeared to be losing steam. "I think the currency market is done playing on political factors," said Minoru Shioiri, senior foreign exchange manager at Mitsubishi Securities in Tokyo. "Now the question is: Do we have a good enough reason to continue buying dollars?" If the U.S. data turn out to be more positive than expected, the dollar could continue its rise, said Ichiro Ikeda, vice president of the global currency and commodity group at JPMorgan Chase Bank of Tokyo. "That would be a very good excuse for people to jump in and continue selling euro," Ikeda said.