TOKYO - The dollar lingered in a 14-year trough against the yen in Asian trade Monday ahead of a slew of US economic data that could raise fresh concerns surrounding growth in the world's top economy.
Markets were also waiting for interest rate decisions in Europe and Australia later this week.
The dollar eased to 86.35 yen in afternoon trade in Tokyo from 86.74 yen in New York late Friday, but up from a nadir of 84.82 reached last week.
The euro firmed to 1.5076 dollars from 1.4995 and edged up to 130.08 yen from 129.76.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the bank was monitoring the impact of the stronger yen on businesses and stood ready to take necessary actions to stabilise the financial markets.
The BoJ "pays due attention to the effects of the recent rapid appreciation of the yen on business sentiment," Shirakawa said in a speech. "Stable moves in the foreign exchange market are desirable."
Money players were bracing themselves for a slew of US economic figures this week that could put fresh pressure on the dollar, dealers said.
Factory and construction spending data will be out on Tuesday, followed by the Beige Book on economic conditions on Wednesday, and the key monthly unemployment report on Friday.
"Data this week in the United States is unlikely to help allay growth concerns ... (They) will intensify rather than lessen," said Calyon analyst Mitul Kotecha, who expects the jobless rate to remain above 10%.
Meanwhile the euro continued to be hit against the dollar amid ongoing concerns over European banks' exposure to Dubai, and ahead of an interest rate decision by the European Central Bank on Thursday.
The bank is expected to maintain its key lending rate unchanged at 1.0%, and it will likely raise its forecast for 2010 growth in the euro-sharing region, dealers said.
Investors will be scrutinising a post-meeting speech by governor Jean-Claude Trichet on a exit timetable for the bank's stimulus measures that were put in place to shore up growth after last year's financial market turmoil.
Markets were also eyeing whether the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike rates again when it meets on Tuesday, after raising them twice in a row since October.
In regional Asian trade, the dollar widely fell, to 1.3820 Singapore dollars from 1.3882 on Friday, to 33.18 Thai baht from 33.24, to 32.19 Taiwan dollars from 32.34, to 46.94 Philippine pesos from 47.15, and to 1,160.20 South Korean won from 1,172.25.
But it rose to 9,445 Indonesian rupiah from 9,435.
