The dollar eased to around ¥109.40 in Tokyo trading Monday while it searched for direction amid a lack of fresh factors.
At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥109.42, down from ¥110.18 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.2166, up from $1.2112, and at ¥133.13, down from ¥133.46.
In New York trading Friday, the dollar briefly dropped below ¥109.40 reflecting falls in U.S. long-term interest rates following the Labor Department’s announcement of weaker-than-expected growth in U.S. nonfarm payrolls in May.
The dollar fluctuated in a narrow range around ¥109.50 on Monday morning in Tokyo amid the absence of fresh market-moving factors.
The U.S. currency fell below ¥109.40 in the afternoon, pressured by sales for position adjustment mainly by speculators and selling by Japanese exporters.
After recovering to around ¥109.50 later, the greenback became static.
A wait-and-see mood is growing ahead of the release on Thursday of the U.S. consumer price index for May, with market players remaining cautious about inflation in the United States and keeping attention on the monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is set to hold a policymaking meeting next week.
The U.S. CPI for April, announced last month, registered a faster-than-expected year-on-year increase, causing rises in U.S. long-term interest rates and turmoil on the exchange market.
The dollar is likely to move tightly, between ¥109 and ¥110, in the first half of this week, a Japanese bank official said.
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