TOKYO: The dollar was lower against the yen and the euro in Asian trade Monday, with weakness in Asian stock markets again prompting flights to the perceived safety of the Japanese and eurozone currencies.
The greenback USDJPY, -0.48% was at ¥121.56, compared with ¥121.70 late Friday in New York. The U.S. currency was also weaker against the euro EURUSD, +0.4828% which rose to $1.1243 midday from $1.1187.
The WSJ Dollar Index BUXX, -0.17% a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.2% at 88.31.
Despite comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s No. 2 official over the weekend, interpreted as being slightly hawkish by Tokyo-based currency dealers and analysts, the greenback was under selling pressure against the yen and the euro from earlier in the session.
Market participants pointed to a Financial Times report that China will avoid massive share purchases after an over $200 million two-month spree to support stocks, which sparked concerns about another round of a stock market sell-off.
