The yen gained more than one percent against the dollar and euro on Friday after upbeat economic data fuelled speculation that the Bank of Japan might soon shift from its ultra-easy monetary policy. Japanese core machinery orders rose 6.8 percent in December from the previous month, beating market expectations for a 1.5 percent increase. There was also a 2.7 percent year-on-year rise in the corporate goods price index in January, its fastest rise in nearly 16 years. But the dollar held firm against the euro ahead of key U.S. trade data at 1330 GMT, forecast to show a widening in the deficit in December to $65.0 billion. "There's ongoing speculation over a possible end to quantitative easing...today's data has added more fuel to the fire. But the timing is still very uncertain," Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein foreign exchange strategist Sabrina Jacobs said. By 1222 GMT, the dollar was trading at 117.56 yen , close to earlier one-week lows of 117.37. The euro was trading at 140.76 yen , off earlier two-week lows of 140.59. The euro stood at $1.1969 , largely steady from late U.S. trade.