The yen dropped to a 20-month low against the US dollar on Monday after Japan's Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide election victory that leaders promise will usher in aggressive monetary easing policies to weaken the currency. The euro rose against the yen as well, but saw its gains on the US dollar undermined by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, after he reiterated concerns over slow growth of Europe's economy.

In midday New York trade, the greenback was up 0.31 percent to 83.70 against the yen, its best level since April 2011. The euro climbed 0.36 percent to 110.29 yen but fell back from its 8-1/2-month high of $1.3191 to trade at $1.3169, up just 0.06 percent against the US currency.

Copyright Reuters, 2012