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Yen surges as BoJ stands pat and Brexit worries mount

New York - The yen surged to a 22-month high against the greenback on Thursday after the Bank of Japan disappointed investors hoping for more stimulus for the tepid Japanese economy.

The yen also benefited from a flight to safety amid rising fears Britain will vote next week to exit the European Union, wreaking damage on Britain and the global economy.

The Bank of Japan wrapped up a policy meeting leaving interest rates unchanged. But there had been some expectations it could expand stimulus.

Investors pushed the Japanese currency up to ¥103.55 per dollar, its strongest level since August 2014. The yen ended the day with a 1.6% gain.

The euro fell as low as ¥115.50, its weakest level since early 2013.

Polls in Britain, meanwhile, show the June 23 Brexit referendum is too close to call.

"It's a very crazy, a very volatile market with a lot of speculation," said Boris Schlossberg at BK Asset Management.

Thursday's brutal murder of a pro-EU British lawmaker halted campaigning for the referendum just a week before the vote.

Schlossberg said the market thinks it was very likely now that Britons will vote in favour of remaining in the EU.

"If that's the case, it's positive for the euro," he said.

The dollar advanced 0.3% against the euro at $1.1229.

The greenback was flat against the pound, while the euro slipped against the British currency.

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Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.3%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
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