July 22 Reuters The dollar eased slightly against a basket of currencies on Monday while dropping sharply versus the yen as investors focused on U.S. President Joe Biden39;s decision to end his reelection campaign and the next moves from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.

Analysts said the Japanese currency could be at a turning point after falling since the beginning of 2024 as the Fed is close to cutting rates and the BoJ is widely expected to tighten its monetary policy soon.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will meet on July 30, a day before the Bank of Japan.

Money markets fully price in a 25 bps Fed rate cut by September.

The yen has become more volatile ahead of the latest policy meetings from the Fed and BoJ, said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG, after flagging that the Japanese currency has been supported by more compelling evidence of slowing U.S. inflation.

Furthermore, former President Donald Trump has expressed concern over the high level of the U.S. dollar versus the yen, he added.

The greenback dropped 0.6 versus the Japanese currency at 156.58.

The dollar index a measure of the value of the U.S. dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies fell 0.1 at 104.30.

Biden announced he was exiting the race on Sunday, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic candidate in the November election. Harris quickly received the backing of many within the party, but several high profile names…