Analysts said the BOJ's main goal had been to stabilise the yen at current levels. No co-ordinated intervention was expected given the proximity with the Christmas break, they added.

But wariness of possible further market action by Japan's central bank should scare off the few yen bulls still around in this ultra-thin holiday market, analysts said.

"The yen has been drifting strongly up all week," said Joanne Collins, senior economist at Daiwa Europe in London. "I suppose the BOJ's immediate objective is to send a signal that they are not going to let it break 100 just because it's Christmas."

The dollar had shed around half yen from a peak of 103.15 yen set in Asia after the intervention, but was propped above 102.50 in Europe amid BOJ wariness, traders said.

"The Japanese authorities would have hoped to get more bang for their buck in a quiet, pre-Christmas market," said Nick Parsons, currency strategist at Commerzbank in London. "But it does remind us that the closer you get to 100, the bigger the risks are going to be," he added. Meanwhile, offers by Japanese exporters and hedge funds were keeping the U.S. Currency capped at around 103.

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said on Friday that Japan must act against speculative moves out of consideration for a quick recovery in the Japanese economy.

Miyazawa said the ministry could feel at ease despite they ear-end holiday season. Analysts said Japanese authorities were fearful that the yen's appreciation beyond 100 yen to the dollar would hurt corporate profits and dampen sentiment until a self-sustainable recovery emerges. Elsewhere, the euro was holding around 104 yen, after having been boosted nearly one percent to this week's high of 104.56 in the wake of the intervention.

Euro/yen strength was keeping the euro propped above $1.01, although the single European currency was still below below six-day highs around $1.0180 set on Thursday.Chartists said the euro had yet to tackle key chart barriers above $1.02 to prove parity was definitely out of the picture.

"While the euro pushed up yesterday, it is still in a broad consolidating triangle pattern and did not manage to get above $1.0223/35," said Steve Wesiak, technical strategist at ABN AMRO in Amsterdam.

"I would not tell people to get excited about this until we take out levels like $1.0225, $1.0250 or even $1.03."

The euro derived little support from stronger-than-expected October Italian retail sales, which rose by 3.1 percent year-on-year against expectations for a 2.2 percent rise. This was the largest rise since November, 1998.