The dollar edged higher against the yen on Thursday with traders citing position-squaring by short-term players, although doubts over global growth prospects continued to cloud the greenback's outlook.

Some traders who sold the dollar in its recent bounce seem to be buying back dollars now, said a trader for a Japanese bank in Singapore.

The dollar had set an 18-month low of 105.55 yen on May 3, having slid after the Bank of Japan held off from expanding its monetary stimulus at its policy meeting in late April.

The greenback has since regained some footing as traders cut their bullish bets on the yen following a series of warnings from Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso that the government would intervene to curb any one-sided gains. But analysts believe Japan will be wary of intervening before it hosts a Group of 7 meeting this month, even though Tokyo is clearly unhappy with a nearly 11 percent rise in the yen since December.

Sterling remains on the defensive as the latest surveys show the "Brexit" referendum on Britain's continued membership in the European Union on June 23 is still too close to call. The Bank of England's monetary policy committee releases updated growth and inflation forecasts in a quarterly report on Thursday but uncertainty over Brexit is likely to keep the central bank extra cautious.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in the range of $1.1370-90

GBP/USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in the range of $1.4440-60

USD/JPY: during the Asian session the pair fell to Y108.60

Based on Reuters materials