The dollar was in the ascendant on Monday on the prospects that U.S. interest rates would stay higher for longer, while the yen slid towards 150 per dollar and near a one-year low, putting traders on watch for intervention from Japanese authorities.

The yen eased to 149.83 per dollar, its weakest in more than 11 months, moving ever closer to the 150 mark that some traders believe could prompt intervention by Tokyo to support the currency.

In the broader currency market, sterling was last 0.4% lower at $1.2158, having slid nearly 4% against the dollar in the third quarter.

The euro was down 0.4% at $1.0535, after ending the previous quarter with a 3% fall, its worst performance in a year, as the relative divergence of the U.S. and European economies plays out in the currency market.

The U.S. dollar index edged back towards its recent 10-month high of 106.84 and was last at 106.51, after clocking its best quarterly performance in a year thanks to persistently hawkish Federal Reserve rhetoric and a surge in U.S. treasury yields.

Elsewhere, the Australian dollar slid 0.6% to $0.6395, while the New Zealand dollar edged 0.4% lower to $0.5972, as traders looked ahead to rate decisions from their respective central banks this week.

Source : Reuters