Asian stocks edged up on Friday, heading for a fifth straight week of rises,

RELATED ARTICLES Asian stocks ease as investors cautious despite Greek deal Asian stocks becalmed as Greek talks drag Greece wrangling tempers Asian mkt momentum Asian stocks rise as US jobs gain outweighs fears over Greece Asian stocks down ahead of US jobs results

with energy stocks firm as oil held above $82 a barrel and financials ticking higher after U.S. talks to force broad banking reform collapsed.

The yen dipped, dented by speculation the Bank of Japan could further ease its monetary policy in the near term, while the dollar was treading water ahead of U.S. retail sales data later in the day.

Asian stocks have been pushing higher since early February, helped by improving sentiment around Greece's debt woes, hopes for economic recovery and robust fund flows.

Japanese stocks again led the advance, with the Nikkei average rising as much as 1.1 percent to a seven-week high as investors welcomed the weaker yen.

"The risk of a strong yen appears to be receding as the Bank of Japan is expected to move towards more monetary easing, increasing demand for shares of exporters," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.

The dollar has fallen close to 3 percent against the yen since hitting a three-month low in early March, a boost for companies which have significant offshore earnings such as Honda Motor.

The dollar inched up 0.1 percent from late U.S. trade to 90.62 yen , within sight of a two-week peak of 90.83 yen hit on trading platform EBS on Wednesday.