The yen approached the closely watched 150 level to the dollar on Monday, keeping traders on alert for intervention by the authorities, after the Bank of Japan and its Governor Kazuo Ueda dashed hopes of any imminent move away from its ultra-loose monetary policy.
In the currency market in general, the dollar was in the lead, extending its gains achieved last week after the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) surprised the markets by indicating that interest rates would need to remain high for a longer period than initially expected.
The yen fell to its lowest level in more than 10 months at 148.49 to the dollar and remained close to the 150 level, which some market observers believe may stimulate the intervention of Japanese authorities in the foreign exchange market similar to what happened last year. It was last traded at 148.35 per dollar.
The Japanese currency fell by more than 0.5 percent in Friday trading after the Central Bank of Japan kept interest rates very low, while Governor Ueda stressed the need to continue evaluating the data for a longer period before raising interest rates.
The euro rose 0.05 percent to $1.0649, after falling to a six-month low of $1.0615 on Friday against the rise of the US currency.
The single European currency is on track to lose approximately 1.8 percent during the month, its largest monthly decline since May.
The pound sterling fell 0.04 percent to $1.2240, after falling more than one percent last week against the backdrop of the Bank of England halting its interest-raising cycle, a decision that came a day after data showed an unexpected slowdown in the high inflation rate in Britain.
