By Alexander Martin
The dollar was little changed against the yen during Asian hours
Monday amid subdued, holiday-thin trading and a lack of cues.
As of 0450 GMT, the greenback was unchanged at Y119.52 from
Y119.52 in late New York trading Friday.
"There aren't many market participants this week with many
overseas investors beginning to take their Christmas vacations,"
said Junichi Ishikawa, market analyst at IG Securities in
Tokyo.
"In a situation like this, the focus will be on whether the
recent improvement in risk appetite will continue," he said.
The dollar has strengthened against rival currencies in recent
days, benefiting from signals from the Federal Reserve over the
raising of interest rates next year.
On Wednesday, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the central bank
could raise U.S. interest rates for the first time since the
financial crisis as early as its April policy-setting meeting.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank have
been taking measures to ease policy in their battle to stimulate
growth and ward off deflation, moves that have weakened their
respective currencies.
The Fed chief's comments served to restore some calm in markets
riled by the fall in oil prices and the meltdown in the Russian
ruble, Mr. Ishikawa said.
But Daisuke Karakama, chief market economist at Mizuho Bank,
said the pair could fall again if risk-aversion sets in, rekindled
by Russia crisis fears and other geopolitical risks.
"That could see yen-short positions unwind, triggering a large
fall in the dollar/yen," he said.
The euro was at $1.2242 from $1.2230 and at Y146.35 from
Y146.15.
The WSJ Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket
of currencies, was down 0.11% at 82.50.
Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 00:50 EST / 0450 GMT
Latest Previous %Chg Daily Daily %Chg
Dollar Rates Close High Low 12/31
USD/JPY Japan 119.52-53 119.52-53 -0.01 119.55 119.32 +13.50
EUR/USD Euro 1.2243-46 1.2227-30 +0.13 1.2250 1.2223 -10.88
GBP/USD U.K. 1.5643-48 1.5623-28 +0.13 1.5647 1.5621 -5.52
USD/CHF Switzerland 0.9826-30 0.9839-43 -0.13 0.9845 0.9821 +10.06
USD/CAD Canada 1.1597-602 1.1602-07 -0.04 1.1617 1.1598 +9.22
AUD/USD Australia 0.8157-61 0.8141-45 +0.20 0.8167 0.8131 -8.51
NZD/USD New Zealand 0.7747-53 0.7745-51 +0.03 0.7756 0.7714 -5.73
Euro Rate
EUR/JPY Japan 146.33-37 146.13-17 +0.14 146.38 145.97 +1.08
Source: ICAP PLC
Write to Alexander Martin at alexander.martin@wsj.com