The US dollar was little changed in afternoon trading here, with market players keeping to the sidelines before the release later today of the US consumer price index (CPI) figures for last month, dealers said. At 3.14 pm (0714 GMT) here, the dollar was at 116.08 yen, up from 116.02 yen in Sydney just over 3-1/2 hours earlier. The euro was at 1.2785 usd, down from 1.2790 usd in Sydney. As the Asian session drew to a close, the dollar had traded between 115.92 yen and 116.14 yen. Overall flows remained thin in Japan because of O-bon holiday there this week, dealers said. They said the market had generally brushed off the release of the minutes of the last meeting of the Bank of Japan's policy board because they offered few new insights. The euro had traded in a range of 1.2780-1.2795 usd, fenced in by orders on either side of that range, with buy stops noted above 1.2810-20 usd and sell stops below 1.2780 usd, dealers said. US inflation data have been at the top of the agenda this week and players got a first glimpse overnight, when the producer price index (PPI) figures were released. The US Labor Department reported that the core PPI, which excludes food and energy, declined 0.3 pct last month, and that the headline PPI was up 0.1 pct. Wall Street analysts had forecast a rise of 0.2 pct in the core PPI and a rise of 0.4 pct in the headline PPI. The US dollar saw modest losses as a result of the tame PPI readings but many believe the CPI numbers will be the deciding factor, dealers said. The median estimate in a Market News International survey of economists is that the headline CPI rose by 0.4 pct last month and that the core CPI rose by 0.3 pct.