© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollar bills appear in front of a stock chart in this illustrated illustration on November 7, 2016. Photo taken on November 7. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Written by Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar rose against the ruble on Monday, although it pulled back from a 15-month high hit earlier in the session, while the Japanese yen rose modestly against the dollar after comments from the country’s top currency diplomat.
Senior Russian officials rallied around President Vladimir Putin on Monday as state media said authorities were still investigating mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin whose weekend rebellion appeared to pose a major threat to the Russian leader’s 23-year rule.
said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York. York.
“It really does seem like the focus will probably shift again until we have a clearer understanding of that to the slowdown in global growth that we’re seeing.”
The Russian ruble fell 0.90% against the dollar, at 84.40 per dollar, after reaching its weakest level since March 2022.
The dollar was softer against the yen, after Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Masato Kanda said Japan was not ruling out any options in possible responses to excessive currency moves.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.11% against the dollar, at 143.52 per dollar. The Bank of Japan last intervened in the yen when it was trading around 145 per dollar.
“Whenever you step in and see it work a little bit and then the price goes back to where you intervened in the past, it’s like you start unwinding again,” Moya said.
The Japanese currency came under pressure as the Bank of Japan maintained its soft monetary policy, while central banks around the world embarked on a rapid path of raising interest rates to combat stubbornly high inflation.
The index fell 0.01% at 102,730, buoyed by safe-haven bidding as concerns persisted about a global economic slowdown amid aggressive tightening by central banks.
The euro rose 0.16% to $1.0906 ahead of remarks by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde at the European Central Bank’s Forum on Central Banking in Sintra.
Earlier data in the region showed that German business sentiment worsened for the second consecutive month in June, indicating that Europe’s largest economy is facing an uphill battle to shake off recession.
The British pound was last trading at $1.2707, down 0.03% on the day.
In Asia, the dollar rose 0.40% against the outside to $7.2442 after hitting a 7-month high as investors prepare for more support measures as China returns Monday from a holiday. Additional stimulus measures from Beijing are expected to support China’s faltering economic recovery.