The euro hit a record peak just below 150 yen and rose half a percent against the dollar on Monday as markets grew cautious ahead of US data that could confirm the Federal Reserve's moderating growth outlook.
The yen also fell against the euro and dollar on expectations the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will take its time raising interest rates, following weak Japanese inflation data released last week.
Analysts said markets were likely to concentrate on economic events in the United States and Europe later this week, which may shed light on the path of monetary policy at the Federal Reserve and the European Central bank.
Investors will scrutinise the minutes of the Fed's August 8 policy meeting for insight into why it left its funds rate at 5.25 percent after boosting it 17 successive times in two years to June.
The market will also look to a batch of US economic data, including August payrolls on Friday and indications of price growth in the personal consumption expenditures index for July.
"If we were to see a bit more confirmation that the US was heading for a hard landing, for instance from non-farm payrolls, euro/dollar should be back at the upper end of the range," said Michael Klawitter, currency strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort in Frankfurt.
"Following the Japanese CPI data last week, it's difficult to see how the BoJ can hike rates, and the market wants to see 150 printed in euro/yen."
Traders and analysts said dealing was thin on Monday as London financial markets were closed for a holiday.
The euro was up around a quarter percent against the yen at 149.83 yen by 1130 GMT, having hit a record peak earlier of 149.97 - according to Reuters data - a hair's breadth away from the psychologically important 150 yen level.
The euro hit a record peak of 149.95 yen on electronic trading platform EBS during Asian trading overnight.
Sterling also rose against the yen to 221.89 yen, its highest level since October 1998. The euro rose to $1.2805, up around 0.45 percent from Friday's US close, but more than a cent below recent two-month highs of $1.2939. The dollar slipped 0.2 percent on the day against the yen to 117.05 yen.
The Swiss franc hit the day's highs against the dollar and the euro after Swiss National Bank Chairman Jean-Pierre Roth said the central bank would continue its path of rate hikes as the Swiss economy is set to keep growing strongly and inflation remains in check.
Roth also said economic fundamentals meant the franc would continue to be solid against major currencies. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged again in September and investors are eager to get any clues about the Fed's policy movements beyond September.
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