Dollar-Yen Softens on Lower US Rates, Weak Japan Data

The dollar-yen pair traded in a soft tone on Monday, the start of the week. As of 10:00 a.m., the pair was changing hands at 159.02 yen per dollar, roughly 30 sen weaker for the dollar compared with the New York close of 159.32 yen.

The dollar's heavy tone was driven in part by lower U.S. interest rates. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield opened lower in after-hours trading at the start of the week, which acted as a headwind for the dollar.

Japan's preliminary real GDP for the April-June quarter showed annualized growth of 1.1% quarter-on-quarter and 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, both falling short of market expectations of 2.0% and 0.5%, respectively.