The euro was steady against the dollar and the yen today but remained in very narrow ranges as dealers awaited a deluge of US economic data this week.
The Federal Reserve will today begin a two-day policy meeting, but it is expected to hold its key rate steady at 5.25 per cent, and most attention will be focused on the statement that accompanies the decision and what it suggests about future policy.
Negative sentiment continued to build on the yen, with market participants seeing no end in sight to weakness due to the prevalence of the carry trade in which investors borrow in low-yielding currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc to buy higher-yielding ones.
Yesterday, the dollar climbed to a four-year high above 122 yen, and the euro edged closer to a fresh record high against the Japanese currency despite public comments from euro zone officials expressing concern about the weak yen.
Today the euro was up 0.2 per cent at 158.00 yen, not far from a record high of 158.61 struck last week.
Against the dollar, the euro was at $1.2967.