SINGAPORE- The yen won a brief reprieve after hitting fresh two-decade lows from Japanese policymaker comments on Monday, even as holidays confined the US dollar to narrow ranges against most other currencies.
The yen fell to a two-decade low of 126.795 in early Asian trading, before both Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki voiced concerns and caused it to bounce as far as 126.25. But the rally proved short-lived and it was soon back around 126.57.
With the Easter holiday in Australia, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia dulling trade in other currencies, the dollar remained strong and supported by a hawkish Federal Reserve while the euro was hamstrung by a lack of clarity on when rates in the euro zone would rise.
At Monday’s lows, the yen was nearly 10 percent weaker than where it was at the beginning of March. It fell nearly 2 percent against the dollar last week, marking a sixth straight losing week.
Win Thin, head of currency strategy at BBH Global Currency Strategy, said the dollar didn’t seem to have significant chart points halting a potential further run-up against the yen until a 2002 high near 135.15.
