• The dollar held steady against the yen on Monday, taking a breather after last week’s rally and as it treads cautiously amid lingering concerns over a U.S.-China trade spat.
The dollar last traded at 106.32 yen, after having risen more than 1.5 percent last week for its biggest weekly gain since September 2017.
Against a basket of six major peers, the dollar last stood at 89.971, having backed off from a one-week high of 90.178 set last Thursday.
The euro held steady at $1.2321.
• The Trump administration this week will unveil the list of Chinese imports targeted for U.S. tariffs to punish Beijing over technology transfer policies, a move expected to intensify trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
• China will complete by mid-April the formation of new government departments announced as part of a sweeping restructuring plan ratified by parliament, state television reported late on Saturday citing comments from Vice Premier Han Zheng.
In March, China’s parliament passed the restructuring plan that merged several ministries and regulators in a bid to streamline the organisational structure and increase the ruling Communist Party’s control.
• Japanese business sentiment worsened for the first time in two years in the three months to March, a closely watched central bank survey showed on Monday, as rising raw materials and labor costs weigh on an otherwise steady economic recovery.
A strong yen and simmering fears of a trade war, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, could further undermine corporate morale if threats of retaliation escalate, analysts say.
Non-manufacturers’ sentiment worsened by 2 points to plus 23 against a median forecast of plus 24, deteriorating for the first time in six quarters.
• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to visit the United States April for talks with President Donald Trump, he said on Monday.17-20
Abe said he would ask Trump to bring up the issue of past North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens, during the U.S. president’s expected summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
• Oil prices rose on Monday, lifted by a drop in drilling activity in the United States as well as by expectations that Washington could re-introduce sanctions against Iran.
U.S. WTI crude futures were at $65.20 barrel at 0657 GMT, up 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their previous settlement.
Brent crude futures were at $69.78 per barrel, up 44 cents, or 0.6 percent.
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