Credit: Investing.com -
Investing.com - The yen gained further against the dollar in Asia on Monday after a retail sales gain in March in Japan matched expectations based on a rush to buy goods ahead of a sales tax hike that took effect on April 1.
USD/JPY traded at 102.11, down 0.08%, , while AUD/USD gained to 0.9280, up 0.12%, from a slow early start.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against six currencies, traded at 79.90, up 0.07%.
Japan's March retail sales rose 11% year-on-year, in line with expectations and the eighth straight annual rise. Sales were been boosted by buying ahead of an increase in the sales tax to 8% from 5% which came into effect on April 1.
This is a short week for the region with Japan due to observe a holiday on Tuesday while most other parts of Asia will be closed on Thursday for Labour Day.
In the past week, the dollar ended ower against the safe haven yen and Swiss franc on Friday as fresh tensions over hostilities in eastern Ukraine underpinned safe haven demand.
Concerns over the conflict between Russian and Ukraine escalated on Friday after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Washington was ready to step up sanctions on Russia. The West is accusing Russia of leading a separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine after it annexed Crimea last month.
In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on Friday's U.S. jobs report for April and the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. On Monday, the U.S. is to release private sector data on pending home sales.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
