Dollar Touches Six-Month High Versus Yen Before Fed, BOJ Meet

Bloomberg (13/12) -- The dollar touched the highest in more than six months versus the yen, as traders bet on diverging monetary policy between the U.S. and Japanese central banks.

The greenback headed for a seventh weekly gain against the yen as the yield spread between Treasuries and Japanese government bonds approached the widest since April 2011. The Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan both meet next week to set policy. The euro reached a five-year high against the yen, heading for a fifth weekly advance, before European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio and executive board members Benoit Coeure and Peter Praet speak today. The dollar rose 0.1 percent to 103.52 yen as of 10:03 a.m. in Tokyo from yesterday, heading for a 0.6 percent gain this week. It earlier touched 103.66, the highest since May 22, when it reached 103.74, a level unseen since October 2008. The greenback was little changed at $1.3748 per euro, set for a 0.3 percent weekly decline. The shared currency advanced 0.1 percent to 142.34 yen, 0.9 percent stronger for the week, after touching 142.52, the most since October 2008.