TOKYO: The dollar was stronger against the Japanese yen in Asian trade Monday, with short covering and dip-buying kicking in to lift the US dollar after it hit a two-week low.
Around 0450 GMT, the dollar was up to Y117.68 compared with Y117.41 late Friday in New York.
The greenback met with selling pressure earlier in the morning, in line with the weak tone it has exhibited since Friday when weaker-than-expected U.S. gross domestic product figures for the October to December quarter helped moderate the currency market’s expectation for higher interest rates.
A downbeat reading for China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index Sunday also prompted selling of the U.S. dollar, inviting options-related stop loss selling order that gave extra downward momentum to the dollar to as low as Y116.64 — its lowest since Jan. 16.
