Publications
Partners
Tokyo - The yen weakened in Asia Thursday as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) opted to keep its huge monetary easing scheme in place.
In Tokyo midday trading, the dollar fetched ¥96.76 from ¥96.39 in New York Wednesday, while the euro also strengthened to ¥129.07 from ¥128.55 in US trading. The European single currency was flat at $1.3334.
In a widely expected move, Japan's central bank said its board voted unanimously to keep the existing policy in place after a two-day policy meeting.
Investors are also keeping a close eye on the US Federal Reserve, with growing speculation it would soon start tapering its own huge stimulus programme.
A pull-back on the Fed's monetary easing would shrink the number of dollars in the financial system, boosting demand and the greenback's value.
The BoJ, which unveiled its own gigantic bond-buying scheme in April, said the outlook for the world's third-biggest economy was looking brighter, while early signs of rising prices were good news for its efforts to hit a two-percent inflation target in as many years.
Easing tends to weigh on a currency so the BoJ's decision to keep its policy in place dragged the yen lower.
Currency markets were also keeping a close eye on better-than-expected Chinese trade data.
