Gold Finance reported that the Japanese yen strengthened against the US dollar and other currencies in early Asian trading. The Global Economics and Markets Research team at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) said in a research report that the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan will both hold monetary policy meetings this week. If markets focus on the convergence of monetary policy between the two, the dollar could fall to a year-to-date low below 140.00 against the yen. The team said that while the Bank of Japan is expected to keep policy unchanged this week, Governor Kazuo Ueda may open the door to a rate hike later, possibly as early as October.

Meanwhile, the FOMC is expected to cut policy rates by 25 basis points this week. Data from FactSet show the dollar fell 0.2% against the yen to 140.52, after hitting a low of 140.29 on Friday, its lowest intraday level this year.