The Japanese yen continued its slide on Tuesday following a three-day holiday weekend in Japan. The currency briefly fell to 120 to the dollar, the lowest level in over 6 years.

Traders are selling on the view that US interest rates could rise more quickly than previously expected.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested on Monday the central bank might raise rates at future policy meetings by twice as much as earlier indicated.
Rates could go up by as much as half a percentage point at a time.

The yen has been losing ground since last Wednesday, when the Fed raised its key rate by a quarter percentage point at a two-day policy meeting.

Analysts say the yen selling will likely continue, given the divergent stances of the US and Japanese central banks. The Bank of Japan announced last Friday it plans to stick with its massive monetary easing program for the time being.