Investing.com - The dollar rose to six-month highs against the broadly weaker yen on Monday amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon start to taper stimulus, while a deal on Iran’s nuclear program curbed safe haven demand.
During European morning trade, USD/JPY advanced 0.43% to 101.70, the highest since May 29, from 101.25 on Friday.
Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned by expectations that the Fed could start scaling back its stimulus program at one of its next few meetings.
The yen remained under heavy selling pressure amid heightened expectations that Bank of Japan will implement additional easing measures next year.
Speaking Monday, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated that the bank will continue with its massive stimulus program and said the bank was prepared to take further steps if necessary in order to meet its 2% inflation target.
Safe haven demand for the yen was also hit after Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, as part of an agreement with the U.S. and five other world powers.
Elsewhere, EUR/USD was down 0.29% to 1.3515 from 1.3557 on Friday.
The euro came under pressure after European Central Bank governing council member Ardo Hansson said Monday the bank was technically ready for negative interest rates.
The pound was also lower against the dollar, with GBP/USD slipping 0.22% to 1.6188.
The dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.33% to 0.9099.
In Switzerland, official data on Monday showed that the number of people employed rose to 4.20 million during the third quarter, in line with estimates, up from 4.17 million in the preceding quarter.
The greenback was broadly stronger against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD down 0.34% to 0.9138, NZD/USD edging up 0.14% to trade at 0.8196 and USD/CAD rising 0.39% to 1.0558.
The Australian dollar remained at 11-week lows after Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens said last week the bank believed that intervening in the currency market to lower the Aussie’s value could be effective in the right circumstances.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.29% to 80.93.
