* Dollar stalls as earlier peters out ahead of quarter-end
* Major markets closed for holiday, currencies rangebound
* Dollar index down more than 2 pct this quarter (Adds details and quotes, updates prices)
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) - The dollar stalled against its peers on Friday as the recovery seen earlier this week petered out ahead of the new quarter, which could potentially bring renewed pressure on the greenback.
Against a basket of six other major currencies, the dollar was off 0.2 percent to 89.985.
The index was up nearly 0.6 percent for the week, during which it touched a one-week high of 90.178 on factors including easing of concerns over global trade protectionism and perceived progress on North Korea's nuclear programmme.
"A key part of the dollar's recent gains were quarter-end flows, with many investors seen to have closed out short positions on the currency to lift the dollar," said Shin Kadota, senior strategist at Barclays in Tokyo.
"It remains to be seen if the dollar can retain its gains next week when the new quarter begins, as it will no longer have support from such flows. Much of the challenging themes will remain the same in the next quarter, such as the health of the U.S. economy and trade issues."
The dollar index was down more than 2 percent for the quarter, its fifth straight quarter of declines.
The U.S. currency, which plumbed a 16-month low of 104.560 on Monday when trade woes roiled global markets, shed 0.2 percent to 106.245 yen. It has risen 1.5 percent this week but declined 5.7 percent for the quarter.
The dollar's fall against the yen in recent months has come despite higher U.S. bond yields. The spread between the 10-year U.S. and Japanese government bond yields reached its widest in a decade this quarter as the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates steadily while the Bank of Japan is stuck with monetary easing.
The yen is often sought in times of market turmoil and there were numerous opportunities for investors to buy the Japanese currency in the first quarter, which was punctuated by unsettling political developments in the White House, trade tensions between the United States and China and an end to Wall Street's bull market.
"The lack of correlation between dollar/yen and the U.S.-Japan yield spread looks unnatural. Upward pressure on dollar/yen will be significant should the pair re-establish their correlation with the yield spread," said Yukio Ishizuki, senior forex strategist at Daiwa Securities.
The euro nudged up 0.15 percent to $1.2317, having slipped 0.3 percent this week. The common currency was up 2.6 percent for the quarter, buoyed by prospects of the European Central Bank phasing out its accommodative monetary policy.