Yen Gains vs Dollar, Asian Stocks Make Cautious Gains

The dollar remained near a more than one-month low against a basket of major currencies on Monday, after a batch of disappointing U.S. data last week gave investors no reason to expect higher U.S. interest rates anytime soon.

The dollar index was last at 80.042, steady on the day and not far from 80.014 touched on Friday, a level not seen since May 21. It posted its biggest weekly fall in over two months, and was on track for a flat half-year performance. The dollar drifted down 0.1 percent to 101.31 yen, marking a fresh 5-week low of 101.26 yen earlier.

“Most people said the U.S. dollar should be stronger than the yen in the first half of the year based on higher Treasury yields,” said Masashi Murata, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo, but those expectations did not materialize and the pair has stuck to a narrow range between 100 and 103 yen in recent months.

Last week, the dollar closed below its 200-day moving average against the yen on a weekly basis for the first time since before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was elected, Murata said.” Some people might try to sell the dollar/yen more,” he said, in light of the bearish technical signal.

Bulls are hoping to see evidence of an economic rebound in the United States in this week’s busy calendar of data that includes the June payrolls report on Thursday, a day early due to the July 4 holiday.

Economists on average expect jobs to rise 213,000 in June for the fifth straight month of gains above 200,000, a run unmatched since the Sept 1999-Jan 2000 period.

The U.S. earnings season also starts in the next couple of weeks, which will provide evidence on how the economy and profits are faring.

The Dow ended Friday 0.03 percent higher, though it was down 0.6 percent on the week. The S&P 500 gained 0.19 percent for the day, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.43 percent.

US stocks finished slightly higher on Friday as strong earnings from Nike helped offset a profit warning from DuPont.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.03 per cent to 16,851.84.