Yen Falls, Names Floated for BOJ Roles

During the Asian trading session, the Japanese Yen fell hard against the U.S. Dollar, hitting a fresh 33-month trough as investors react to rumors that the Japanese government is poised to name two well-known doves to replace the policy makers at the Bank of Japan. According to sources, the current head o the Asian Development Bank, Haruhiko Kuroda, will be named as BOJ governor, while one deputy governor’s seat is likely to be awarded to Kikua Iwata who has been highly critical of the BOJ and who is believed will be an advocate of an extremely looser monetary policy.

As reported at 1:22 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY pair was trading at a high of 94.77 Yen, a level last seen in May 2010,, and well up from Friday’s late trade of 93.39 Yen in New York; currently, the pair is trading at 93.41 Yen, a gain of 0.46%, after giving up earlier gains. Over the past quarter, the greenback has appreciated almost 20% versus the Japanese Yen, with expectations that the Yen’s slow fall will continue with under the new leadership. The EUR/JPY pair has also traded higher at 125.25 Yen at one point, approaching the 34-month peak of 127.71 Yen which had been set earlier this month.