Yen Falls Amid Risk Appetite

The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday amid risk appetite, as investors remain cautiously optimistic on bets the U.S. Fed will likely cut interest rates in September after data showed the U.S. consumer price inflation came in line with estimates in April, while core consumer prices edged up slightly less than expected.

Gains among iron miners, energy and financial stocks, also led to the upturn of investor sentiment.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan bounced back up into expansion territory in May, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.4. That's up from 49.6 in April and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the Asian trading today, the yen slipped to 5-week lows of 170.89 against the euro and 174.69 against the Swiss franc, from Friday's closing quotes of 170.64 and 174.23, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 172.00 against the euro and 176.00 against the franc.

Against the pound and the U.S. dollar, the yen dropped to a 5-day low of 200.65 and a 4-day low of 157.48 from last week's closing quotes of 200.44 and 157.23, respectively. On the downside, 202.00 against the pound and 162.00 against the greenback are seen as the next support levels for the yen.

Against Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the yen slipped to a 5-day low of 104.73, a 17-year low of 96.81 and 5-week low of 115.54 from last week's closing quotes of 104.65, 96.62 and 115.36, respectively. The yen may test support near 106.00 against the aussie, 98.00 against the kiwi and 118.00 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, manufacturing PMI reports for May from various European economies and U.K. are due to be released in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. and Canada manufacturing PMI for May and U.S. construction spending data for April are slated for release.