Dollar moves tightly, euro rises

US dollar moved slightly in Asian trading on Monday, amid a rise in the pound sterling and a decline in the yen, after a Japanese holiday and anticipation of a group of upcoming central bank meetings led to a state of stagnation in the markets.

According to Reuters, the yen stabilized at between 147.63 and 147.88 against the dollar, with Japanese markets closed on the occasion of a national holiday. In the days that followed Ueda’s statements about abandoning negative interest rates, the yen fell 1.3%, bringing its losses in 2023 to more than 11%.

The dollar index fell slightly to 105.23 points, while the euro rose 0.12% to $1.0705. The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2395 on Monday.

The pound sterling has fallen about 6% against the dollar since mid-July, and the euro has fallen more than 5% with the slowdown in the labor market and economy in Britain and the eurozone economy.

The European Central Bank raised interest rates to 4% last week, but said this raise may be the last.

The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting scheduled for Friday is the most prominent event in Asia this week after its governor, Kazuo Ueda, raised speculation that the bank is about to move to stop its ultra-loose monetary policy.

Also during this week, the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) will hold a meeting on Wednesday in which it is expected to stop its monetary tightening policy, while the Bank of England is likely to raise interest rates one final time on Thursday.

US Treasury bond yields rose, and two-year bonds rose above the five percent threshold by 25 basis points this month, supported by higher government spending and expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high for a longer period to curb inflation, which is still above target. ‎