U.S. dollar reached its best level since July against the Japanese yen on early Monday as it was lifted by the strength of Treasury yields. Expectations that the Bank of England will incite a rate hike anytime this year has boosted the British pound.
The greenback, however, was weak against its major peers last Friday following a lower than expected retail sales data in the United States for the month of August. Still, it managed to start this week already on the positive territory despite a poor performance on the previous week. It rose more than 2.8 percent on the prior week against the yen after stronger yields somehow supported the dollar’s appeal.
As of now, the U.S. currency was 0.3 percent higher versus the yen at 111.17 yen. It reached a seven-week high as it gained steam last Friday at 111.33. The yen was also lower against other currencies; it was higher against the pound sterling on the day.
According to some traders, there are possibilities that the trading behavior in Japan was thinner on Monday as the markets in the country were shut on the day. Their politics has been the center of attention because it is suggesting signs of an early election.
The pound sterling immediately rallied last week as it finished stronger due to growing expectations of an interest rate hike by the Bank of England. For the very first time since the Brexit vote, the currency surpassed $1.36 handle following BoE policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe’s remarks on possible rate hike.