TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar held steady while the yen lost ground on Friday, dented by firmer stock markets and a rise in sterling after Moody's analysts said there was no threat to ratings of the UK and United States at the moment. Traders said investors were looking for opportunities to liquidate long yen positions as business winds down for the year and once widely-watched Chinese data had come in as expected, supporting Asian share markets, position closing set in. The dollar and euro rose half a percent on the Japanese currency, although both were well within ranges of the past month, while higher yielders the Australian and New Zealand dollars also gained. "Chinese figures turned out to be largely within market forecasts and they showed the country's economy is still recovering steadily," said Yousuke Hosokawa, Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Company. "Since there's been no major change in the global economy...., players are trading on short-term factors, in addition to the year-end repatriation flow," he said. The dollar rose 0.5 percent to 88.68 yen and the euro was up 0.9 percent at 131.04 yen. It was steady at $1.4725. The dollar index, a gauge of its performance against six major currencies, was little changed at 76.049 .DXY. Moody's said earlier this week it saw no immediate threat to the ratings of the 17 nations it currently rates triple-A, although they would face a battle next year to manage their debt burdens. Moody's, which has a stable outlook for UK government bonds, also said the outlook had not been materially changed by Britain's pre-budget report this week, but the pound rose after the rating agency's analysts reiterated in a presentation in Hong Kong that there was no threat to UK or U.S. ratings right now. Sterling, which has been under pressure from concern about Britain's fiscal position, gained 0.2 percent to $1.6313 and climbed 1 percent to 145.20 yen. The euro slipped 0.3 percent to 90.29 pence. Chinese industrial output growth in November jumped to its strongest since June 2007, underlining the economy's brisk recovery and reassuring investors watching the Asian giant. But dealers said investors were reluctant to take much risk ahead of the year end. "It looks as if issues such as Dubai debt troubles and sovereign debt risk have eased somewhat but there is no guarantee we won't see any negative news," said Jun Kato, senior chief analyst at Shinkin Central Research Institute. "Market sentiment is not really recovering a lot and there is a risk that something could trigger a negative reaction." Sterling's gain helped push the yen down, extending its losses from Thursday when U.S. trade data boosted hopes that the economy was improving and saw some unwinding of yen positions. The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose about half a percent on the yen. The Aussie dollar was steady at $0.9167, after rising almost 1 percent on Thursday on hopes of higher interest rates. The kiwi dipped 0.2 percent to $0.7271 after a jump of more than 1 percent the previous day. Traders said they anticipated some yen buying next week ahead of a share sale expected later this month by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T), details of which are due to be announced between December 14 and 16. U.S. retail sales for November are due at 1330 GMT and will be watched for clues about the strength of consumer demand. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a 0.7 percent rise compared with a 1.4 percent increase in October.

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