Yen surges on surprise Bank of Japan policy move

TOKYO, Dec 21 (albawaba.com) - The yen soared to a four-month high against the dollar Tuesday after a surprise tweak to monetary policy by the Bank of Japan, which decided against hiking interest rates to tame decades-high inflation.

Rallying also against the euro, the yen's jump weighed heavily on share prices of Japanese exporters.

The BoJ move sent the yen to 131.01 per dollar, its strongest level since August.

"The shift in (Bank of Japan) policy was slight," noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"The decision is being read as a sign of testing the water, for a potential withdrawal of the stimulus which has been pumped into the economy."

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) adjusted its parameters for controlling bond yields, in a shift away from its long-running dovish stance of keeping rates ultra-low to boost the struggling economy. ...continue reading

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