Dollar is falling, approaching its lowest level in 9 months

The dollar fell against the Japanese yen on Friday, as traders bet that the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy tightening is still imminent.

The dollar also fell to approaching a nine-month low against the euro, amid expectations in the market that the European Central Bank will announce next week an interest rate hike of up to twice the Federal Reserve rate.

The dollar fell 0.43 percent to 129.65 yen in early transactions, after data revealed that consumer price inflation in Japan accelerated to close to a 42-year high this month, intensifying pressure on the Bank of Japan to move away from stimulus.

During the week, the dollar stabilized against the yen after fluctuating between losses and gains.

On the contrary, the euro is heading towards an increase of 0.4 percent since last Friday, in the third consecutive week of gains. It rose 0.07% to $1.08975 during the day.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major currencies, including the euro, the yen and the pound sterling, fell 0.04 percent to 101.70, becoming on track for a decline of 0.28 percent during the week. This will be its third consecutive weekly decline.

The British pound is heading towards recording a third weekly rise against the dollar, rising 0.1 percent. On Friday, it settled at $1.2411.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar rose 0.11% to $0.71225, close to a seven-month high of $0.71425 reached on Thursday.

During the week, the Australian dollar rose 2.17 percent, and is on track to achieve the highest weekly increase since the beginning of November.