Forex - Dollar Dips Against Yen; Sterling at 1-Year Highs

The dollar edged lower against the yen on Wednesday but remained well above last week’s 10-month lows, while sterling rose to a one-year high boosted by stronger-than-expected UK inflation data.

The dollar was a touch lower against the yen, with USD/JPY dipping to 110.00 by 03:19 AM ET (07:19 GMT), after rising to an overnight high of 110.29, the most since September 1.

The greenback hit a 10-month low of 107.30 against the Japanese currency on Friday before rebounding as tension over North Korea ebbed and concerns over the economic impact of Hurricane Irma eased.

Sterling built on the previous session’s gains, with GBP/USD climbing 0.29% to 1.3321 amid expectations that Tuesday’s strong inflation reading would prompt the Bank of England to take a more hawkish stance on interest rates.

The BoE is to hold its next policy meeting on Thursday.

The euro edged higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD last up 0.1% at 1.1977.

The euro surged to two-and-a-half-year highs against the dollar last week after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated that the bank may start tapering its massive stimulus program this autumn.

But he also said the strong euro is weighing on inflation, adding to pressure on the ECB at time when it is starting to decide how to proceed with tapering.

The euro was at one-and-half month lows against the stronger pound, with EUR/GBP down 0.19% at 0.8991.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.13% to 91.77.

Meanwhile, the Australian and New Zealand dollars were slightly higher, with AUD/USDrising 0.15% to 0.8031 and NZD/USD adding on 0.16% to trade at 0.7296.