Dollar slips lower vs. yen in thin trade

The dollar was lower against the yen on Monday as steep falls in Japanese equities markets bolstered the yen, and was little changed against the other major currencies in quiet trade.

During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.42% to 100.84.

Japan’s Nikkei extended last week’s steep declines on Monday, dropping 3.2% as investors weighed the possibility that the Federal Reserve’s USD85 billion-dollar-a-month asset purchase program could be scaled back later this year.

Meanwhile, the minutes of the Bank of Japan’s April meeting showed that a “few” policymakers are concerned that inflation may fall short of the bank’s 2% target through March 2016.

The minutes also appeared to indicate that policymakers are divided over rising government bond yields, with some calling for measures to stabilize the bond market.

Elsewhere, the euro edged higher against the dollar, with EUR/USDinching up 0.07% to 1.2942.

The dollar was slightly lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.14% to 1.5144.

The dollar was little changed against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHFeasing up 0.04% to 0.9614.

The greenback was trading in a narrow range against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD edging up 0.07% to 0.9616, NZD/USD rising 0.14% to trade at 0.8097 and USD/CADunchanged for the day at 1.0321.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, slipped 0.11% to 83.61. 

Trade volumes looked likely to remain thin on Monday with markets in the U.S. and the U.K. closed for national holidays.