The US dollar rose to the lower 107 yen range on Thursday in Tokyo, the highest in six years on speculation that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) may take additional monetary easing steps.
At 4:30 p.m. (0930 GMT), the greenback fetched JPY 106.88-90 compared with JPY 106.82-92 in New York and JPY 106.63-64 in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The dollar climbed to JPY 107.02 at one point in the afternoon, its highest level since September 25, 2008.
In his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier in the day, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank won’t hesitate to further ease monetary policy without any hesitation if its 2 percent inflation goal becomes difficult to achieve.
In April 2013, the BOJ launched a massive monetary easing program to end deflation that has lasted for nearly 15 years and achieved the 2 percent inflation target in fiscal 2015.
Reflecting the weaker yen, buy orders overwhelmed Tokyo stocks, sending the benchmark index to hit an eight-month high. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) gained 20.42 points, or 0.76 percent, from Wednesday to 15,909.20, its best finish since Jan. 10.
The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index, which includes all First Section issues on the TSE, advanced 4.45 points, or 0.34 percent, to reach 1,311.24.
Source : KUNA Kuwait News agency
