By Hiroyuki Kachi

The yen remained stronger against its rival currencies in Asian trade on Monday, as lingering concerns about Brexit bruised sentiment and prompted investors to buy the safety of the Japanese currency.

Investors' worries about a hard Brexit scenario have hit the U.K. pound hard, ahead of a key speech by U.K Prime Minister Theresa May.

In her speech on Tuesday, Ms. May is expected to elaborate on the U.K's priorities in negotiations over its exit from the European Union. Several British newspapers reported that Ms. May will emphasize that the U.K will leave the EU's single market to regain control of immigration policy.

These headlines bolstered the Japanese currency, which investors consider a safe haven in times of geopolitical and financial instability.

The greenback weakened to Y113.97 before regaining some ground to Y114.27 around 0450 GMT. That compared with Y114.75 late Friday in New York.

The euro tumbled to Y121.21 from Y121.79. The pound, which fell 1.9% to Y136.84 from Y139.45 late Friday, was still weak at Y137.51 midday in Tokyo.

In addition to lingering Brexit concerns, investors were sitting on the sidelines ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration speech scheduled Jan. 20.

Many investors have tempered their optimism, as Mr. Trump last week failed to give more details on his administration's plans for fiscal stimulus, deregulation or tax cuts at his first news conference since the U.S. elections.

"With sentiment turning to risk-off, investors buy the dollar but they buy the yen more," said Marito Ueda, director at FX Prime byGMO. "With plenty of worries, the near-term course of the market is unpredictable," said Mr. Ueda.

Having nosedived as much as 1.6% against the dollar, the pound trimmed its earlier losses later in the Asian trade. The pound was changing hands at $1.2037 midday, down 1.1%. The euro was trading around GBP0.8818 after jumping to GBP0.8852.

Among other currency trades, the euro fell to $1.0608 from $1.0614 late Friday.

The WSJ Dollar Index, a measure of the U.S. dollar against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.25% at 92.11.

 
Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 23:50 EST / 0450 GMT 
 
 
                           Latest       Previous   %Chg    Daily    Daily   %Chg 
Dollar Rates                               Close            High      Low  12/31 
 
USD/JPY Japan           114.23-24      114.49-50  -0.23   114.50   113.99  -2.36 
EUR/USD Euro            1.0610-13      1.0643-46  -0.31   1.0645   1.0606  +0.87 
GBP/USD U.K.            1.2032-34      1.2182-84  -1.23   1.2183   1.2015  -2.53 
USD/CHF Switzerland     1.0109-13      1.0084-88  +0.25   1.0116   1.0086  -0.77 
USD/CAD Canada          1.3141-46      1.3112-17  +0.22   1.3148   1.3115  -2.22 
AUD/USD Australia       0.7471-75     0.7499-503  -0.37   0.7503   0.7468  +3.76 
NZD/USD New Zealand     0.7093-99      0.7126-32  -0.46   0.7129   0.7088  +2.47 
 
Euro Rate 
 
EUR/JPY Japan           121.20-24      121.84-88  -0.53   121.86   121.09  -1.53 
 
 
Source: Tullett Prebon

Write to Hiroyuki Kachi at Hiroyuki.Kachi@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 16, 2017 00:42 ET (05:42 GMT)

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