Yen Drops Amid Prospects For Deepening Policy Divergence Between Fed And BoJ

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen fell against its most major counterparts in the Asian session on Monday, amid prospects for a widening policy divergence between the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.

Friday's U.S. jobs data helped ease recession fears and intensified expectations for a more aggressive tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve.

Markets are assigning a greater possibility of the Fed raising its policy rate by another 75 basis points at its meeting in September.

The Fed's policy stance is in contrast with the BoJ, which is expected to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy to support the economy.

Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that Japan posted a current account deficit of 132.4 billion yen in June.

That beat expectations for a shortfall of 703.8 billion yen following the 128.4 billion yen surplus in May.

The yen slid to a 4-day low of 163.84 against the pound, near 2-week lows of 137.92 against the euro and 141.06 against the franc, from its previous highs of 162.80, 137.32 and 140.22, respectively. The yen is seen finding support around 166.00 against the pound, 139.00 against the euro and 142.00 against the franc.

The yen touched a 4-day low of 84.72 against the kiwi and near a 2-week low of 104.96 against the loonie, down from its early highs of 84.20 and 104.30, respectively. The next possible support for the yen is seen around 86.00 against the kiwi and 106.00 against the loonie.

The yen remained lower against the kiwi, after falling to a 4-day low of 84.72 earlier in the session. The yen may challenge support around the 86.00 level.

In contrast, the yen bounced off slightly to 134.90 against the greenback, off an early nearly 2-week low of 135.58. The yen is likely to find resistance around the 120.00 level.