The yen rose against the euro and the dollar as declines in stocks
damped demand for purchases of higher-yielding currencies funded by
loans in Japan.
Japan's currency gained most versus the South African rand as
commodities fell after China reported the slowest growth in imports
since June 2007.
``Sentiment is in favor of further yen gains,'' said Masanobu Ishikawa,
general manager of foreign exchange at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow
Ltd., Japan's largest currency broker. ``A weak stock market causes a
reversal in risk trades, which is supportive of the yen. The euro is
vulnerable because the economic outlook points to lower interest rates
in the future.''
Trading volumes may be lower than normal because U.S. financial markets are closed today for a public holiday, Ishikawa said.