LONDON: The yen suffered fresh losses on Monday after Group of Seven finance officials avoided direct criticism of Japan's monetary policy, which has pushed its currency to four-year lows.
The euro also fell against a firmer dollar after European Central Bank policymaker Ignazio Visco said the central bank may opt for a negative deposit rate. This contrasted with expectations the US Federal Reserve may soon taper its asset-buying monetary easing.
The yen hit 102.15 yen per dollar, its lowest since October 2008, on trading platform EBS as investors saw the G7 outcome as a green light to sell the currency.
It was last steady at 101.65 yen, with traders saying investors took profit from the dollar's rise above 102 yen.
Analysts and traders expected the yen to fall further with many seeing 105 as a reasonable target. In the short term, it may struggle before a reported options barrier at 102.50.
"As long as there is no concern from the authorities about the rise of the yen it is a one-way bet and every pullback (in dollar/yen) will be met by buying interest," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen.
"In the next six months it can easily move to 105 or 110, especially if data in the US improves, as we expect, and the Fed slows its QE (quantitative easing) programme."
The dollar soared past the 100 yen level last week on signs of a better US labour market and data showing Japanese investors were buying more foreign assets.
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