“The yen headed for a record stretch of weekly losses against the dollar as data showing a decline in Japanese consumer prices added to the case for further monetary stimulus from the central bank.
The Bank of Japan (8301) announced open-ended easing and a 2 percent inflation target this week. The Japanese currency remained weaker after touching a 2 1/2-year low as Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said he will make “considerable efforts” to reach the price target. The Dollar Index rose before U.S. data forecast to show home sales increased.
“The market’s looking for any excuse to sell the yen at the moment,” said Thomas Averill, managing director in Sydney at Rochford Capital, a currency and interest-rate risk management company. “The weakness in the yen has got quite a long way to go. It’s very hard to find economic fundamentals that justify buying the currency.”
The Japanese currency slid 0.2 percent to 90.55 per dollar at 6:39 a.m. in London from yesterday, after earlier touching 90.69, the weakest since June 21, 2010. It was set for an 11th weekly loss, the longest losing streak in data compiled by Bloomberg going back to 1971.
The yen dropped to 121.31 per euro, the weakest since April 2011, before trading at 121.03, 0.2 percent lower than yesterday’s close in New York. The 17-nation euro fell 0.1 percent to $1.3367. The shared currency was still poised for a 0.4 percent weekly gain against the dollar and 0.9 percent advance versus the yen.
The Dollar Index (DXY), which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against currencies of six U.S. trading partners, added 0.1 percent to 80.038.
