TOKYO: The yen plunged to a near seven-year low in Asia on Friday after the Bank of Japan said it would expand its already vast asset-purchasing programme in a bid to kickstart the economy.
The dollar rallied to 110.68 yen -- its highest since January 2008 -- in Tokyo after the surprise announcement, up from 109.36 yen in the morning and 109.22 yen in New York Thursday.
"We are getting a bunch of orders" including those from hedge funds, said a senior dealer at a Japanese bank.
"Everyone is jumping around with the surprise," the dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.
The euro rose to 139.13 yen from 137.79 yen in earlier Tokyo trade and 137.75 yen in New York.
The single European currency slipped to $1.2580 against $1.2612 in US trade.
The central bank said it would expand the monetary easing scheme following a string of poor data that has fanned fears the economy may contract again in the third quarter.
After a one-day meeting, policymakers said they would add up to 20 trillion yen ($182 billion) to the bank's asset-buying scheme, bringing it to 80 trillion yen annually.
The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.
It rose to Sg$1.2805 from Sg$1.2788 Thursday, to Tw$30.42 from Tw$30.39 and to 1,065.95 South Korean won from 1,053.42 won but fell to 32.54 Thai baht from 32.56 baht.
It declined to 61.41 Indian rupees from 61.44 rupees, to 44.86 Philippine pesos from 44.89 pesos and to 12,094 Indonesian rupiah from 12,120 rupiah.
The Australian dollar rose to 87.95 US cents from 87.65 cents while the Chinese yuan firmed to 18.01 yen from 17.81 yen.
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