Investing.com - The dollar dropped against the yen on Monday after a key Federal Reserve official defended the U.S. central bank's decision to keep its dollar-weakening stimulus programs in place.
In U.S. trading on Monday, USD/JPY was trading at 98.78, down 0.59%, up from a session low of 98.66 and off a high of 99.36.
The pair was likely to find support at 97.77, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 99.67, Friday's high.
The Federal Reserve last week made no changes to its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar to spur recovery.
Many market participants were expecting the U.S. central bank to trim the total by USD10 billion or more now that the economy is gaining steam, though on Monday, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley defended the decision, stressing that monetary authorities want to be sure recovery is sustained before dismantling stimulus programs.
"In my view, the economy still needs the support of a very accommodative monetary policy. Adjustments to that policy need to be anchored in an assessment of how the economy is actually performing, how financial conditions are evolving, and how this affects the longer-term outlook and the risks around it," Dudley said in prepared remarks of his speech.
"Our decisions on how to adjust our policy tools—for example, the pace of asset purchases and forward guidance with respect to the level of short-term rates—must be rooted in the ongoing flow of information that informs our judgments about the prospects for a sustainable recovery."
The yen, meanwhile, was up against the pound and up against the euro, with GBP/JPY down 0.30% and trading at 158.56 and EUR/JPY trading down 0.73% at 133.39.
The euro softened after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the monetary authorities may provide banks with a new round of low-cost loans known as long-term refinancing operations to ensure interest rates stay low and keep inflation rates in target.
Elsewhere, data released earlier showed that the euro zone preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.1 in September from a final reading of 51.4 in August. Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 51.8.
Conversely, the euro zone services PMI rose to 52.1, its highest level since June 2011, from 50.7 in August and well above expectations for a reading of 51.1.
On Tuesday, the U.S. is to release private-sector data on housing prices as well as a closely-watched report on consumer confidence.
In U.S. trading on Monday, USD/JPY was trading at 98.78, down 0.59%, up from a session low of 98.66 and off a high of 99.36.
The pair was likely to find support at 97.77, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 99.67, Friday's high.
The Federal Reserve last week made no changes to its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar to spur recovery.
Many market participants were expecting the U.S. central bank to trim the total by USD10 billion or more now that the economy is gaining steam, though on Monday, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley defended the decision, stressing that monetary authorities want to be sure recovery is sustained before dismantling stimulus programs.
"In my view, the economy still needs the support of a very accommodative monetary policy. Adjustments to that policy need to be anchored in an assessment of how the economy is actually performing, how financial conditions are evolving, and how this affects the longer-term outlook and the risks around it," Dudley said in prepared remarks of his speech.
"Our decisions on how to adjust our policy tools—for example, the pace of asset purchases and forward guidance with respect to the level of short-term rates—must be rooted in the ongoing flow of information that informs our judgments about the prospects for a sustainable recovery."
The yen, meanwhile, was up against the pound and up against the euro, with GBP/JPY down 0.30% and trading at 158.56 and EUR/JPY trading down 0.73% at 133.39.
The euro softened after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the monetary authorities may provide banks with a new round of low-cost loans known as long-term refinancing operations to ensure interest rates stay low and keep inflation rates in target.
Elsewhere, data released earlier showed that the euro zone preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.1 in September from a final reading of 51.4 in August. Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 51.8.
Conversely, the euro zone services PMI rose to 52.1, its highest level since June 2011, from 50.7 in August and well above expectations for a reading of 51.1.
On Tuesday, the U.S. is to release private-sector data on housing prices as well as a closely-watched report on consumer confidence.