Yen Rises as Lack of BOJ Nominee Consensus Tempers Easing Bets

Yen Rises as Lack of BOJ Nominee Consensus Tempers Easing Bets

Bloomberg (13/3) - The yen strengthened for a second day against the dollar as a lack of unity among Japanese lawmakers for the government’s picks to run the Bank of Japan (8301) damped speculation for accelerated monetary easing. Japan’s currency rose versus all 16 of its major peers and bullish bets on the yen in the options market climbed to a nine- month high after the largest opposition party said yesterday it would vote against BOJ deputy governor nominee Kikuo Iwata, an advocate of quantitative easing. The yen has still tumbled 9.2 percent against the dollar this year. The Dollar Index fell before the U.S. releases retail-sales data for February. The yen rose 0.5 percent to 95.57 per dollar at 8:02 a.m. in London after gaining 0.2 percent yesterday. Japan’s currency strengthened 0.4 percent to 124.75 per euro. The dollar weakened 0.2 percent to $1.3054 per euro. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-12/yen-rises-before-japan-opposition-announces-boj-nominee-stance.html