Forex - Dollar lower vs. yen after Abe win

The dollar was lower against the yen on Monday after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Abe’s ruling coalition won a majority in parliament’s upper house elections on Sunday.

USD/JPY hit 99.61 during late Asian trade, the lowest since July 18; the pair subsequently consolidated at 99.97, shedding 0.63%.

The pair was likely to find support at 99.03, the low of July 17 and resistance at 100.85, Friday’s high.

The yen was higher following Sunday’s elections in Japan’s upper house, which gives the ruling coalition a majority in both houses of parliament.

The majority will allow Prime Minister Abe to continue to push through a series of structural reforms aimed at spurring economic growth and fighting deflation.

Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned by expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to slow its bond purchase program later this year.

The yen was also higher against the dollar, with EUR/JPY down 0.52% to 131.50.

The U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales later in the trading day.
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