The Japanese yen weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the sales tax hike will be delayed and as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen endorsed the case for a rate increase in June or July.

Speaking at a post Group of Seven summit press conference on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday that he would delay an increase in the sales tax by two and a half years to October 2019.

While speaking at Harvard University in Cambridge on Friday Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that a rate hike "in the coming months" would be appropriate, if the U.S. economy continues to improve.

In other economic news, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that retail sales in Japan were down 0.8 percent on year in April. That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.2 percent following the 1.0 percent fall in March.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales were flat, matching expectations after jumping 1.5 percent a month earlier.

Last Friday, the yen showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the yen rose against the euro, the pound and the Swiss franc, it fell against the U.S. dollar.

In the Asian trading, the yen fell to a 1-week low of 123.46 against the euro, more than a 1-month low of 162.63 against the pound and nearly a 2-week low of 111.72 against the Swiss franc, from last week's closing quotes of 122.48, 161.08 and 110.71, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 124.00 against the euro, 163.00 against the pound and 115.00 against the franc.

Against the U.S., the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the yen dropped to more than a 1-month low of 111.19, 1-week low of 79.60, 5-day low of 74.35 and a 4-day low of 84.95 from Friday's closing quotes of 110.19, 79.15, 73.76 and 84.57, respectively. The yen may test support near 113.00 against the greenback, 83.00 against the aussie, 76.00 against the kiwi and 87.00 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, Swiss KOF leading indicator for May and Eurozone business climate index for May are due to be released later in the day.

In the New York session, the German flash CPI data for May, Canada industrial products and raw materials price indexes for April are slated for release.

U.S. markets will remain closed today for Memorial Day holiday, while the U.K. markets are also closed for Spring Bank public holiday.

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