The dollar hit a new four-and-a-half-year top against the yen on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was renominated for a second term, reinforcing bets that U.S. interest rates would rise next year and diverge from Japan's.
The greenback rose as much as 0.24% to 115.13 yen , its highest since March 2017, having jumped 0.77% on Monday.
"We expect the weak JPY narrative to continue finding support amid attention to monetary policy divergence," Barclays analysts said in a note.
They said 115.5, the dollar's March 2017 high, would be one key level to watch, when it came to dollar gains, and, "above that, we caution that there is no clear resistance until 118.7 (the end-2016 high)."
The euro languished at $1.136, around a 16-month low, having lost 2.8% so far this month.
Sterling was soft versus the rampant dollar with one pound at $1.340.
Reference: Reuters
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