TOKYO: The yen struggled in Asian trade Thursday amid speculation that Tokyo will delay a sales tax hike planned for next year, while the pound lost more ground after the Bank of England cut its growth and inflation forecasts.
In Tokyo, the greenback rose to 115.69 yen, against 115.52 yen in New York, while the euro also climbed to 143.93 yen against 143.70 yen.
The European single currency rose to $1.2443 against $1.2438.
The yen has been under pressure after it tumbled to a seven-year low on the dollar Wednesday owing to speculation that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will delay a sales tax hike scheduled for late 2015.
The rumours come after an April levy hike hit a tentative recovery by slamming the brakes on consumer spending and now threatens to send the economy into recession. Third quarter economic growth figures are due Monday.
Major Japanese media have reported that Abe may call a snap election next month if he decides to put off the sales tax hike.
Traders were now focusing on a slate of Chinese monthly economic figures due Thursday.
In other deals, the pound fell again in the wake of the Bank of England's move to trim Britain's economic growth and inflation forecasts, indicating a long wait for a rise in interest rates.
The pound slipped to $1.5771 against $1.5781 in New York.
"A spectre is haunting Europe -- the spectre of economic stagnation, with growth disappointing again and confidence falling back," BoE Governor Mark Carney told a press conference.
Gross domestic product is now forecast to expand 2.9 percent next year, down from a previous estimate of 3.0 percent, the bank said, citing economic strains in the neighbouring eurozone.
US, British and Swiss regulators announced Wednesday that they were slapping $4.2 billion in fines on six of the world's largest banks for manipulation of the foreign exchange market.
The hefty penalties follow a worldwide probe into the scandal over the $5.3-trillion-per-day forex market, around 40 percent of which takes place in the British capital.
Fines were imposed on British banks HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland; US peers Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, as well as Swiss lender UBS.
The dollar was mostly weaker against other Asia-Pacific currencies.
It eased to Sg$1.2924 from Sg$1.2928 on Wednesday, to 1,097.21 South Korean won from 1,099.54 won, to 32.82 Thai baht from 32.86 baht, to Tw$30.59 from Tw$30.64 and to 44.87 Philippine pesos from 44.94 pesos.
The dollar strengthened to 12,210.00 Indonesian rupiah from 12,193.00 rupiah, while it was flat at 61.54 Indian rupees.
The Australian dollar rose to 87.00 US cents from 86.73 cents while the Chinese yuan was unchanged at 18.89 yen.
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