Yen Drops Amid Risk Appetite

The Japanese yen depreciated against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Monday, as hopes for fiscal stimulus measures helped shrugged off worries about a rise in coronavirus cases in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

Lockdown restrictions eased further in Europe, with England embarking on perhaps its biggest lockdown easing yet as pubs and hairdressers reopen for the first time since late March.

Starting July 1, the European Union opened its borders to travelers from some third countries where the coronavirus outbreak is considered to be under control.

The World Health Organization said that more than 200,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed worldwide on Saturday, marking the highest single-day total since the start of the pandemic.

The yen fell to a 5-day low of 107.77 against the greenback and near a 3-week low of 121.62 against the euro, off its early highs of 107.43 and 120.78, respectively. The yen is seen finding support around 110.00 against the greenback and 123 against the euro.

Reversing from its early highs of 113.62 against the franc and 133.97 against the pound, the yen declined to near a 5-week low of 114.25 and a 4-day low of 134.68, respectively. The yen is likely to challenge support around 117.00 against the franc and 139.00 against the pound, if it drops again.

The yen slipped to a 5-day low of 79.64 against the loonie, near 4-week lows of 75.16 against the aussie and 70.67 against the kiwi, after rising to 79.20, 74.45 and 70.09, respectively in early deals. The next possible support for the yen is seen around 81.00 against the loonie, 77 against the aussie and 72.00 against the kiwi.

Looking ahead, U.K. construction PMI for June and Eurozone retail sales for May are due in the European session.

The U.S. ISM non-manufacturing composite index for June will be out in the New York session.