Yen gains despite weaker than expected Q4 GDP

The Japanese yen held stronger on Monday in Asia despite weaker than expected economic growth last quarter.

Japan's fourth quarter economic growth clocked in at a gain of 0.6%, well below the quarter-on-quarter gain of 0.9% expected.

Earlier, New Zealand reported retail sales rose 1.7% quarter-on-quarter, beating an expectation of a 1.3% gain.

Last week, the dollar slid against the yen on Friday after weak data on U.S. consumer sentiment coming on the heels of other soft economic reports saw investors reassess expectations for a mid-year rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

The euro found support after data on Friday showed that Germany’s economy, the euro zones largest, grew 0.7% in the fourth quarter, more than double the 0.3% forecast by economists.

The euro zone economy expanded by a larger-than-expected 0.3% in the three months to December, but Greece’s economy contracted 0.2% in the same period.

Meanwhile, officials from Greece and the European Union were due to hold fresh talks on Monday after talks on a new debt deal last week ended without an agreement.

In the coming week, investors will be focusing on Wednesday’s minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting for further indications on when the Fed may start to hike interest rates.

Wednesday’s policy announcement by the Bank of Japan and Friday’s data on euro zone private sector activity will also be closely watched.