- The U.S. dollar hit a seven-week low against the yen Friday in Asian trading as players accelerated their position adjustments, despite Japanese officials' displeasure about the greenback's rapid fall. The dollar was trading at 115.85 yen by mid-afternoon in Tokyo, down 0.51 yen from late Thursday in New York. The euro edged higher at $1.1975 from $1.1970 late Thursday in New York. Overseas hedge funds and other speculators buying back yen to close positions before the Christmas holidays sent the dollar down to 115.61 yen -- the currency's lowest point since 115.54 yen marked on Oct. 31, and meant the dollar has fallen 5.45 yen, or 4.5 percent, since Monday. The dollar later recovered somewhat versus the yen on buying from Japanese importers and investors, traders said. But some analysts predicted a further decline in coming days. "The dollar has more room to fall," said Mitsuo Imaizumi, deputy general manager of foreign exchange at Daiwa Securities SMBC, who expects a drop to 115.00 yen by the end of New York session. "Many players have yet to catch up with the sharp drop in the dollar over the past few days, so there must be plenty of long-dollar positions left to be unwound," Imaizumi said. Alerted by the yen's continued gains and the yen-bullish sentiment in the market, Japan's finance minister toned up his comments about exchange rate moves. "As far as the past few days are concerned, it is true that (the dollar-yen rate) has been showing very sharp movements," Sadakazu Tanigaki told a news conference. "I think we must watch the movements carefully," Tanigaki said. That suggested a stronger note of caution in his attitude than on Thursday, when he described the yen's recent gains against the dollar merely as "some movements" and said those moves were within the sphere of economic fundamentals. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reminded the market Friday that Tokyo is on guard against a volatile dollar-yen rate. "There's no problem with (exchange rate) rises or falls, as long as these moves are stable and calm," Koizumi told reporters