The yen weakened during the Asian session after PMI

The yen weakened on Monday in the Asian session, and the Australian dollar strengthened after the release of lower-than-expected preliminary index of activity in the manufacturing sector of Japan.

USD / JPY trading at 112.88, gaining 0.20% and AUD / USD increased by 0.22% to 0.7167.

According to preliminary estimates, the index of activity in the manufacturing sector in Japan in February was 50.2, while it was expected to fall to 52.3 last month from 52.0.

US dollar index, which shows the strength of the dollar against the trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.23% to 96.85.

On Saturday, the Chinese authorities have dismissed Syao Gana as head of the Securities Commission. His successor was the chairman of the Board of Agricultural Bank Of China, Liu Shiyu. Rearrange probably occurred due to the recent failure of the automatic suspension of trading on the Chinese stock market mechanism.

Meanwhile, there are rumors that the People's Bank of China reduced the reserve coverage rate in the medium term, because it is believed that the daily short-term open market operations is not sufficient to stabilize market expectations.

Also at the weekend, China announced that change the contents of the consumer basket, reducing the share of food, alcohol and tobacco by 3.4 percentage points and increasing the share of other goods, to reflect changes in consumer habits.

On Monday, investors will wait for data on business activity in the euro area, which will help understand the condition of the economy of the region.

This week also will be information about the mood of businesses in the euro area and the United States, and on Thursday a report on the amount of basic orders for durable goods in the US will give investors an idea of ​​the strength of the manufacturing sector.

Last Friday, the dollar fell against most major currencies, and the yen strengthened after another drop in oil prices and stocks fueled concerns about the global economic outlook.

The dollar gained significant support in the early weeks of mostly positive data on the US economy have strengthened the view that the US Federal Reserve will continue to tighten monetary policy this year.

On Friday it became known that the US consumer price index in January rose by 1.4% year on year, beating expectations about the growth of 1.3%. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose by 2.2%, also more than expected.

Despite the high rates of inflation in the US, the dollar fell to its lowest level in a week against the yen at 112.29, one of the currencies "safe haven".

Posted on Thursday January meeting of the European Central Bank report bolstered expectations that the ECB will ease monetary policy at a meeting next month, since January, the officials discussed the growing threat to growth and inflation in the euro zone.