LONDON: The dollar strengthened the most in a month against the yen ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, when investors anticipate policy makers will raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.
The greenback advanced against all its developed-market peers Friday, a day after posting its first gain in three sessions versus the yen and euro. Japan’s currency led declines, trimming its best weekly performance for three months, as the nation’s stocks rallied from a three-day slide. Australia’s dollar extended its biggest weekly decline in a month after key export iron ore experienced its longest slump since 2008.
“A U.S. rate hike is mostly a done deal, and there’s potential for some dollar buying,” said Masakazu Satou, a currency adviser at Gaitame Online Co., a retail foreign-exchange brokerage in Tokyo. “There seems to be a pause in risk-off sentiment,” lifting Japanese stocks and weakening the yen.
The dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to 122.07 yen as of 2:04 p.m. in Tokyo, the most since Nov. 16. It added less than 0.1 percent to $1.0936 per euro, after Thursday’s 0.8 percent advance.
