Yen strengthens after BOJ stands pat on policy

The greenback changed hands at 93.87 yen in Tokyo, against 94.04 yen in New York late Wednesday, while the euro bought 121.97 yen from 122.00 yen.

The European currency gained to US$1.2992 against US$1.2971, ahead of a policy meeting of the European Central Bank later in the day.

The BOJ, which left rates unchanged at 0 to 0.1 percent, also offered an upbeat view on the world's third-largest economy, saying it has “stopped weakening” and was “expected to level off more or less for the time being.”

The bank was widely expected to take no action as Shirakawa prepares to step down later this month, about three weeks before the end of his term, after he clashed publicly with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over policy.

Shirakawa's expected replacement, Haruhiko Kuroda, is likely to be confirmed by parliament in the coming weeks.

Kuroda, 68, has long criticized the BOJ for doing too little to lift the world's third-largest economy, and is likely to lead a fresh drive for more spending and aggressive monetary easing to beat deflation, in line with Abe's wishes.

Forex markets were also looking ahead to monetary policy meetings at the European Central Bank and Bank of England later in the day.

There was “an evident fear” that the pound will be hit once more should the Bank of England vote in favor of additional easing measures, it added.

The pound slipped to US$1.5000 in Asian trade from US$1.5017 in New York on Wednesday. It had fallen in New York Wednesday to below US$1.50 for the first time since July 2010.

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