Investing.com - The Japanese yen held slightly weaker in Asia on Monday with a Bank of Japan two-day board meeting set to get underway in expected light trade with markets in China closed for a holiday.
The BoJ decision is due on Tuesday and is widely expected to maintain the monetary policy target as there are no signs that downside risks to growth and inflation are increasing for now.
Also in Japan, the February indices of leading, coincident and lagging indicators due at 1400 Tokyo time (0500 GMT). The forecast is for an increase to 114.2 points from 113.1 points last month.
JPY/USD traded at 103.34, up 0.06%, early in Asia.
Australia's March AI Group Construction Index is due at 0930 in Sydney (2330 GMT) followed by March ANZ job ads at 1130 (0130 GMT). Last month, the construction index fell to 44.2, while ANZ job ads data showed a 5.1% gain in February.
Ahead of the private survey data, AUD/USD was flat at 0.9292.
Last week, the dollar pared back gains against the euro and fell against the yen, despite the latest U.S. employment report indicating that the economic recovery is on track.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in March, below expectations for jobs growth of 200,000. February’s figure was revised up to 197,000 from a previously reported 175,000. The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%, compared to expectations for a tick down to 6.6%.
The data disappointed some market expectations for a more robust reading but indicated that the Federal Reserve is likely to stick to the current pace of reductions to its asset purchase program.
The US Dollar Index traded at 80.59, up 0.03%.
In the week ahead, markets will be focusing on Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s most recent policy setting meeting. Monetary policy meetings by the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England will also be closely watched.