The yen rebounded sharply against the dollar on upbeat U.S. data Monday. The dollar was down 0.8 percent at 113.14 yen after rising roughly 0.9 percent to a high of 114.00 on Friday when positive U.S. data helped revive the prospect of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates this year.
The dollar had plummeted to a 16-month low below 111 yen earlier this month as worries about growth, particularly for the Chinese economy as well as instability in equities markets fuelled demand for the safe-haven yen. The greenback has shed 6 percent against the yen so far in February in its sharpest monthly decline since 2008.
There was little currency reaction to the G20 policymakers' meeting at the weekend and few surprises. Asian stocks fell broadly as the G20 meeting ended without a new coordinated plan to spur global growth.
Yen Gains
The yen added to its biggest monthly gain since 2008, while the yuan declined for a seventh day.
According to Koji Fukaya, president of FPG Securities in Tokyo, "It is premature to declare that the yen's rally is over. But recent long positions on the yen were among some of the biggest we have seen over the past 10 years, and it appears that speculators are beginning to unwind these large positions."
New Zealand’s dollar was set for the biggest two-day loss in almost four months as weak economic data boosted the case for an interest-rate cut.
The Shanghai Composite Index sank toward its lowest close since November 2014 as benchmark share gauges declined in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.
Crude traded near $33 a barrel as U.S. drillers cut the number of active rigs to the lowest level in more than six years.