Yen mixed in Asian trade

TOKYO: The dollar's rise against the yen took a breather in Asia Monday amid speculation over further monetary easing by the Bank of Japan, which has started a two-day policy meeting.

The dollar bought 81.24 yen in Tokyo trade, slightly down from 81.31 yen in New York late Friday, after it hit 81.59 yen in earlier trade, its highest level in nearly seven months.

The euro bought 103.65 yen against 103.60 yen, while fetching $1.2761 against $1.2741.

Opposition leader Shinzo Abe said last week he would call for "unlimited" central bank easing and vowed to strike a deal with the BoJ over further measures if his Liberal Democratic Party wins next month's general election.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the lower house of parliament Friday, with opinion polls suggesting his centre-left Democratic Party of Japan would likely lose to Abe's conservative LDP.

"However there are worries as to whether Mr. Abe and the LDP will be able to follow through on their very aggressive economic policies if they do in fact return to power," Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

The dollar was facing a light pull-back Monday due to profit-taking from overseas players, said a senior bank dealer in Tokyo.

The market was cautious amid concerns that overseas investors piling up yen-short positions may unload some of them before the Thanksgiving holiday starting Thursday.

Posted in: Business news