SINGAPORE, Feb. 1 (MNI) - The U.S. dollar was mixed as the Asian session ended, barely changed against the yen but marking slight losses on the euro against a backdrop of heightened risk aversion which has kept the U.S. currency relatively well-supported against other major FX units. Dealers said yen crosses, as indicators of risk sentiment, fell in early trade in Asia, dragging dollar-yen down with them. Some of the factors guiding foreign exchange market swings today were reported comments by the U.K.'s Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, who signalled a regulatory crackdown on foreign exchange carry trades which he insisted served little or no useful social and wider economic purpose. Also, stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data on Friday, concerns about euro-zone sovereign debt, Chinese monetary tightening efforts and stock market losses made for a cautious environment for trading, dealers said, which generally favored the Japanese yen. Soon after the day began, euro-yen sank to fresh 9-month low of Y124.45, dragging dollar-yen down through rumored stop-loss sell orders around Y89.85 to a low of Y89.76. Although dollar-yen rebounded smartly soon after, euro-yen remained depressed near Y124.80/90 through much of the morning. "The dollar was propelled higher by a succession of US economic data releases that comfortably beat expectations," noted analysts at UBS. Dollar-yen's recovery saw it hit a high of Y90.37 this morning but it has since traded between Y90.20 and Y90.30 as Asian markets slowed in the afternoon. "Dollar-yen has already broken higher through the down trendline resistance at the Y90.70 level confirming that a corrective bottom has been established at the Y89.15 lows," noted BNP Paribas strategists. "We now expect gains to target the Y92.05 level, but a further break above here will open potential towards the Y93.75 highs." By the end of the day, dollar-yen was at Y90.18 compared with Y90.26, where it had ended in New York on Friday. Euro-dollar meanwhile, was at $1.3891, near the top of the day's $1.3852 to $1.3894 range, and slightly higher than where it was at the end of last week, around $1.3868. According to dealers, the pair has been taking hits since last Friday, although this morning's tight trading range suggested some consolidation was taking place. "For now, markets are likely to remain defensive," said DBS Bank strategists. "At this juncture, the technical picture is still pointing towards more weakness in many markets despite the short-covering after last week's strong moves." Looking ahead, the market awaits monetary policy decisions from the Reserve Bank of Australia (Tuesday), the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (Thursday). The RBA is expected to raise the cash rate, currently at 3.75%, by 25 basis points, which would be an unprecedented fourth consecutive rate hike. The BOE and ECB are seen leaving rates unchanged, but may offer insight into when monetary policy would begin to be normalized in their accompanying statements. "This week will be all about central banks," BNP Paribas strategists added. U.S. data releases include December personal income and spending, January ISM index and ISM non-manufacturing index, with the focus, as usual, on Friday, key U.S. non-farm payroll data. The median estimate in a Market News International survey of economists looks for non-farm payrolls to be flat in January. Estimates range from -40,000 to +75,000. The unemployment rate is expected to edge up by 0.1% to 10.1%, with estimates ranging from 9.9% to 10.2%.

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