Yen starts another week under pressure with focus on central bank policies

The Japanese yen extended its decline on Monday as traders focused on a series of public statements by central bank policy makers globally this week including Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell later on Monday.

The dollar rose slightly against the Japanese yen, as high as 119.3 yen, defying a six-year high hit on Friday at 119.39. The dollar ended the week with a 1.6 percent gain against the Japanese currency.

The US Federal Reserve raised the key interest rate by 25 basis points last week for the first time since the start of the Corona pandemic.

Traders are now focused firmly on the speed and size of upcoming interest rate increases and their ultimate peak as policy makers try to stem the rise in inflation.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the greenback against six major currencies, settled at 98.270.

The yen also fell to a four-year low against the Australian dollar, which benefited from higher commodity prices.

The euro scored 1.1044 dollars and the pound sterling 1.3158 dollars.