The U.S. dollar climbed against some major currencies Monday, most notably against the yen, as a strong electoral verdict for the Liberal Democratic Party in the weekend elections reinforced expectations or further monetary easing from Japan.
The ICE dollar index , which measures the greenback’s performance against a basket of six major global currencies, rose to 79.649 in Tokyo afternoon trading from 79.543 late in North America on Friday.
The gains came against the backdrop of a decline for most Asian equity markets, and reflect uncertainty among investors as they watched developments related to political negotiations in the U.S. to avert the fiscal cliff.
Against the Japanese unit, the dollar was changing hands for 83.9 yen from ¥83.51, while the euro was fetching ¥110.34 and $1.3153, from ¥109.84 and $1.3156, respectively.
“The Bank of Japan are expected to increase their asset-purchase plan by (¥5 trillion to ¥10 trillion) at this week’s board meeting, but the greater focus will likely be on what happens now that [LDP leader Shinzo] Abe is back in power, including the appointments of the deputy governor [in March] and governor [in April],” Michael Turner, a fixed income and currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.
The BOJ is scheduled to review its monetary policy on Thursday.
In Sunday’s elections in Japan, the LDP and its junior coalition partner together secured more than two-thirds of the 480-member lower house of the parliament — earning a super-majority, which enables them to override any possible opposition to legislation in the upper house.
Among other major currencies, the British pound was changing hands at $1.6184 against $1.6157, further adding to Friday’s gains after earlier last week taking a tumble on Standard & Poor’s lowered outlook for the U.K.’s triple-A credit rating.
The Australian dollar was at $1.0533 versus $1.0561.
Marketwatch
