The dollar started the last quarter of the year strong on Monday, October 2, amid the possibility that US interest rates will remain high for a longer period, while the yen fell to its lowest level in nearly a year, prompting traders to anticipate intervention from the Japanese authorities.

Early Asian trading witnessed limited currency movements due to a holiday in parts of Australia and the Golden Week holiday in China. However, analysts said that avoiding a US government closure at the last minute may provide some support to the markets.

The yen fell to $149.83, its weakest level in more than 11 months, getting closer than ever to the $150 level, which some traders believe may lead to intervention by Japanese authorities, as happened last year, to support the currency.

A summary of opinions at the Bank of Japan's September meeting showed on Monday that monetary policymakers discussed various factors to take into account when abandoning ultra-loose policy.

The euro also fell 0.06% to $1.05665 after ending the previous quarter down 3%, the worst performance in a year.

The British pound fell 0.14% to $1.21875, after similarly falling by about 4% against the dollar in the third quarter.

However, the dollar index did not rise much from the highest level in ten months that it recorded recently, reaching 106.27 in the latest trading, after recording its best quarterly performance in a year last month, supported by the US Federal Reserve’s continued monetary tightening approach.

The US Congress passed a temporary funding bill late on Saturday with overwhelming support from Democrats in an attempt to avoid the fourth partial shutdown of the federal government in a decade.

The Australian dollar also fell by 0.47% to $0.64045, as well as the New Zealand dollar by 0.19% to $0.5987, as traders await interest rate decisions from the two countries’ central banks this week.