"The volatility here at year-end is unlikely to be sustained, but without more encouraging signals from Washington, the markets will likely remain treacherous in the New Year," Marc Chandler at Bannockburn securities told clients.
Volatility in Europe and in the United States spiked to highs not seen since a global stock market correction in February, but the main volatility gauge has since subsided to one-week lows.
Among currencies, the dollar slipped 0.55 percent to 110.40 yen and was on track to lose more than 2 percent against the Japanese currency this month. Against the Swiss franc, it declined 0.3 percent to 0.9853 francs.
Another safe-haven asset, gold, inched up to touch a six-month high of $1,282 an ounce.
The steady drumbeat of disappointing data continued to reinforce caution, with Japan's industrial output contracting in November and retail sales showing sharply.
In Europe, German annual inflation slowed sharply in December.
The euro and sterling both firmed 0.3 percent against the soft dollar , while an index of emerging market currencies touched three-week highs.
Chris Bailey, a strategist at brokerage Raymond James, said dollar weakness was good news for non-U.S. assets.
"My feeling is... if we get the transmission mechanism of a lower dollar, stocks outside the U.S. are set up for a good 2019," Bailey said. "Once people get their heads around the fact the U.S. is not going to have yet another double-digit return year in 2019, you can look elsewhere."
This year though, the annual picture for most assets remains grim, with world stocks for instance losing close to 12 percent so far in 2018 and oil prices falling 30 percent.
Brent crude futures, which had rebounded after Thursday's 4.2 percent fall, eased back half a percent to $51.9 a barrel as rising U.S. inventories and concern over global economic growth weighed
On bond markets, yields on safer debt from Germany and the United States rose slightly, though they remained near multi-month lows .
In Italy, 10-year yields are set for their biggest monthly drop since July 2015. The last auction of the year there saw investors willing to buy 10-year government bonds at 2.70 percent, down from 3.24 percent last month.
The auction could be a sign Italy has turned a corner after months of volatile trading amid fractious talks over its spending plans with Brussels.
