SINGAPORE: The yen fell against the US dollar in Asia on Tuesday as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) pumped more money into the reeling economy of the earthquake-battered nation, analysts said. The greenback was trading at 81.63 yen in morning trade compared with 81.65 yen late Monday in New York. The euro bought 113.92 yen compared with 114.53 yen. The US currency touched four-month lows of 80.62 yen on Monday before the BoJ announced it had injected a record 15 trillion yen ($184 billion) into the country's financial system to boost the economy. The central bank on Tuesday topped that up with a further five trillion yen for the financial system. It said Monday it would double a five-trillion yen asset purchase scheme, in addition to leaving its key rate at between zero and 0.1 percent.
"The yen fell against the dollar as the Bank of Japan pumped more money into financial markets after the nation's biggest earthquake," said Phillip Futures in a report. A weaker yen would make Japan's growth-driving exports cheaper and boost companies' overseas profits when repatriated, which would encourage companies to retain domestic production capabilities instead of relocating overseas. Japan's bourse has nosedived in the aftermath of a monster tsunami spawned by a 9.0 magnitude quake that devastated large swathes of the nation, with death tolls forecasted to exceed 10,000. Tokyo stocks fell below the 9,000 mark Tuesday with the Nikkei index plunging 11.03 percent, or 1,061.35 points, to 8,559.14. It fell 6.18 percent on Monday.
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