By Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar continued its uptrend against major rivals in Asian trading Thursday, as bullish economic data from China raised concerns Beijing may tighten policy and sent most regional equities markets down, boosting the appeal of lower-yielding currencies. The dollar traded at 91.47 yen, up from 91.27 yen in late North American trading Wednesday. The euro fell to $1.4088, from $1.4107 late Wednesday, while the British pound fell to $1.6265, from $1.6286. Chinese data released Thursday were largely in line with expectations, showing economic growth powered higher in the fourth quarter, putting the full-year figure above forecasts. But inflation surprised to the upside, suggesting fiscal and monetary policy tightening could be ahead. See full story on Chinese economic data. The Chinese data were "slightly stronger than expectations but not alarmingly so. Overall, the combination of a slight upward surprise in the data and a slight moderation in the rhetoric on policy is a 'sweet' combination," said Patrick Bennett, forex strategist with Société Générale. China's "economy is growing firmly, and this is an outcome China wants. Nevertheless, the policy will be tweaked to ensure the economy does not grow too fast," he said in emailed comments. The Chinese data also gave the Australian dollar a lift, as the Australian economy is highly sensitive to Chinese demand for commodities. The Aussie was buying 91.09 U.S. cents, up from 90.88 U.S. cents late Wednesday. On Wednesday, the dollar jumped to its highest level against the euro in five months, as reports that China is reining in lending led investors to shun risky assets, and as worries about Greece's budget problems kept pressure on the shared currency. See Wednesday's Currencies report.

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