The dollar hit a two-week low against the safe-haven yen on Thursday, weighed down by uncertainty over whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in June or July, Reuters reported. Strategists said comments from Bank of Japan board member Takehiro Sato, who said on Thursday he was opposed to deepening negative interest rates, had lifted the yen, which was already trading strongly on the back of subdued risk sentiment across markets. The greenback strengthened to a two-month high against a basket of currencies at the start of the week, after Fed Chair Janet Yellen kept alive the possibility of a rate hike at this month's meeting. But it has since lost about 1 percent, with sceptical investors pricing in only a 20 percent chance of a hike in June, according to CME's FedWatch. The dollar was down half a percent by 0740 GMT at 108.99 yen , having earlier touched 108.825 yen, its lowest for two weeks. That was around 2.5 percent weaker than a one-month high of 111.455 yen set on Monday. The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.1221, its highest in nine days, lifted by market expectations that the ECB will raise growth and inflation forecasts, a rare positive step even as it emphasises persistent negative risks and a readiness to provide more stimulus. After hitting a five-month low on Wednesday and having got within a whisker of a 5-1/2-year trough, the Chinese yuan edged up a touch to 6.5786 yuan per dollar in the onshore market .
