Euro hits highest since December 2014 vs yen
Focus on BOJ meeting with new governor
Sweden39;s central bank also meeting this week
Fed, ECB meetings loom next week

SINGAPORE, April 24 Reuters The euro gained while the Japanese yen fell on Monday in thin trading ahead of a closely watched Bank of Japan meeting and the last few data releases before Federal Reserve and European Central Bank interest rate decisions in early May.

The euro was up 0.3 against the dollar at 1.1023, back above 1.10 for the first time since it hit a 14month high of 1.10755 earlier this month.

Against the yen, the euro hit its highest since December 2014. It was last up 0.6 at 148.34 yen . The yen was pressured overall by remarks from the new Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda about the need to maintain monetary easing.

The dollar also rose versus the Japanese currency, and was up 0.4 at 134.595 yen .

The dollar is trading with a softer bias, except against the yen. But it39;s well within wellworn ranges, said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York.

It39;s the calm before the storm. Next week we have the ECB and the Fed meetings, as well as the U.S. jobs data. I would be surprised if people take big bets this far away from those events.

German business morale rose slightly in April, a survey showed on Monday, adding to positive signs as Europe39;s largest economy hopes to have dodged a winter recession, and there were also hawkish remarks from…