* Dollar sinks to 2-week low against yen * Focus on central bank meetings – BOJ, BOE, Fed * US Treasury to release funding estimates later Monday * US refund announcement also key this week (Adds new comment, byline , NEW YORK dateline, bullet points, FX chart; price update) Alun John and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss LONDON/NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar fell on Monday and fell to a two-week low against the yen, as traders expected this week several key central bank meetings and a number of important economic data. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) opened its two-day monetary policy meeting on Monday, leading into a week where the US central bank and the Bank of England (BoE) will also decide on interest rates. A flurry of purchasing managers’ surveys, eurozone inflation and GDP data and US non-farm payrolls are also due out this week. “The US dollar is slightly lower this morning, but not in any way that would expose it to trading outside of recent ranges,” said Helen Given, FX trader at Monex USA in Washington. “Had the domestic consumer data not been so strong last week, we’d probably be looking at a bigger drop in the dollar, but it’s still quite difficult for markets to discount the resilience of the US economy.” Analysts also pointed to the U.S. Treasury’s quarterly refund announcement on Wednesday that could move both bond and currency markets. This refund announcement comes at a time when growing deficits and higher interest burdens have substantially increased the needs of the US Treasury. Since the last refund announcement in August, borrowing rates have climbed to their highest level since 2006-07. The Treasury will also announce borrowing estimates for the fourth quarter and first three months of 2024, a bigger-than-usual deal for investors. It was the July 31 announcement of a $1.007 trillion third-quarter funding need that led to a surge in auction volume that spooked the bond market. The dollar index was last down 0.30% at 106.60 after earlier hitting a weekly low of 106.22, hurt by a small strengthening of the euro. The euro was last up 0.4% at $1.0605. In the mix in Europe on Monday, German state inflation data that pointed to a slowdown in headline inflation in the eurozone’s biggest economy cooled, and a separate report showed German gross domestic product fell 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, though it was above expectation. CENTRAL BANKS Of the three central bank meetings, the BOJ is attracting the most attention from investors due to increased speculation about a possible policy adjustment. A recent rise in global interest rates has increased pressure on the BOJ to change its bond yield control policy as speculation mounts that the central bank could raise its existing yield ceiling at a meeting this week. Both the Fed and the BoE are expected to hold rates steady, so if there are no surprises, the focus will be more on the message policymakers are conveying. The yen was little changed against the dollar, which earlier fell to a two-week low of 149.28 yen and was last at 149.72. The Japanese currency was given a slight reprieve after hitting a one-year low of 150.78 per dollar last week. The pound gained 0.2% to $1.2141. Friday’s US non-farm payrolls data will also be important for Fed rate hike expectations. Wall Street economists expect 188,000 new jobs in the US for the month of October. ================================================== == ====== Currency Bid Prices at 9:59 (1359 GMT) Description RIC Last Close US Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Session Change Dollar Index 106.2500 106.6000 -0.31% 2.667 % +106.710202000008 EUR, +106 USD $1.0565 +0.41% -1.00% + $1.0615 + $1.0547 USD/JPY 149.7900 149.6500 +0.09% +14 .24% +149.8450 +149.2800 Euro/Yen 158.6% +285% 150.6% + 0.6% 150.0% + 0.79% 58.9000 +157.7000 Dollar/Switzerland 0 .9023 0.9021 +0.04% – 2.40% +0.9048 +0.9018 sterling/dollar $1.2137 $1.2123 +0.13% +0.37% + $1.2148 + $1.2090 USD/Canadian 1.3820 1.3872 -0.38% +2.38% +2.37% +2.37% +2.37% D lar $0.6376 $0.6334 + 0 .67% -6.45% +$0.6379 +$0.6333 Euro/Switzerland 0.9570 0.9535 +0.37% -3.28% +0.9577 +0.9526 Euro/Sterling 0.8739 0.8713 +0.30% -1.19% +0.8739 +0.8739 N83% -$850.5 N83% -$850.5 0.09% +$0.5838 +$0.5805/ dollar/dollar/Norway 11.1100 11.1820 -0.58% +13.28% +11.1880 +11.1130 Euro/Norway 11.7850 11.8024 -0.14% +12.35% +11 .8197 +11.8197 +11.71801 $14 +11.71801 $14 % +6.91% +11.1798 +11.1260 Euro/Sweden 11.8054 11.7487 +0.48% +5.88 % +11.8170 +11.7729 (Reporting by Alun John in London and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; More news from Rae Wee in Singapore; Edited by Miral Fahmy, Mark Potter and Andrea Ricci)