TOKYO: The yen rose against the dollar Wednesday after the Bank of Japan refrained from expanding its monetary easing programme at the end of a two-day meeting.
The BoJ said it decided to keep the current 80 trillion yen ($665 billion) annual asset-buying scheme to stimulate the economy by an 8-1 vote, saying the Japanese economy is on track to recovery despite negative growth in the last quarter.
The dollar stood at 119.93 in early afternoon trade in Tokyo, down from 120.28 yen before the BoJ decision Wednesday and from 120.21 in New York Tuesday.
The euro was $1.1277 and 135.24 yen, compared with $1.1267 and 135.55 yen in Tokyo morning trade and $1.1271 and 135.48 in New York.
"There could be a likelihood of more easing or expansion of the QQE program at the end of October," Bernard Aw, a strategist at IG Asia Pte in Singapore, told Bloomberg News, using the abbreviation for quantitative and qualitative easing.
Players are watching what BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda will say in a press conference later Wednesday, analysts said.
Investors have also been on tenterhooks over when the US Federal Reserve might raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.
Poor US jobs data released on Friday has convinced many Fed watchers that it will delay any rise until December at the earliest.
That view became stronger after fresh data showed the US trade deficit expanded as exports slumped, partly because a rise in the greenback has made them less competitive.
"The deficit adds another layer of complexity around the Fed lift-off," Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG, wrote in a note to clients.
"It makes the whole business of raising rates even more problematic as it will put even more pressure on US exports."
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