TOKYO, Dec 3 (Reuters) – The euro hit a six-week high
against the dollar on Monday as upbeat data on the Chinese
economy boosted risk sentiment, reversing earlier losses
triggered by a credit downgrade of the euro zone rescue funds
late last week.

Despite encouraging Chinese data, however, the Australian
dollar dipped as disappointing local retail sales cemented
expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut
interest rates on Tuesday.

TOKYO, Nov 30 (Reuters) – The yen dropped on Friday after
month-end selling from Japanese firms triggered more stop-loss
selling, but concerns about the deadlock over the U.S. “fiscal
cliff” helped to keep it above last week’s 7-1/2-month low
versus the dollar.

The euro stayed near a one-month high against the dollar and
hit a seven-month high against the yen, helped by falling
Italian and Spanish bonds yields.

TOKYO, Nov 30 (Reuters) – The yen dropped on Friday after
month-end selling from Japanese firms triggered some stop-loss
selling, but concerns about the deadlock over the U.S. “fiscal
cliff” helped to keep it above last week’s 7-1/2-month low
versus the dollar.

The dollar rose 0.4 percent to 82.44 yen, edging
closer to last week’s peak of 82.84 yen. The dollar was up more
than 3 percent this month due to speculation of radical
money-printing in Japan after an election next month.

TOKYO, Nov 30 (Reuters) – The euro held below a one-month
high against the dollar on Friday as the market worried about
the prospects for a budget deal seen as essential to preventing
the U.S. economy from slipping back into recession next year.

The deadlock over the U.S. “fiscal cliff” also kept the
dollar in check against the yen, although it remained near a
7-1/2 month high hit last week on speculation of more monetary
easing in Japan.

TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) – The yen held steady below a
one-week high versus the dollar on Thursday, while the euro
found some support as comments from U.S. policymakers rekindled
hopes of a deal to avert a sharp fiscal tightening.

“For the moment, the U.S. fiscal cliff seems to be a
dominant theme in the market,” said Katsunori Kitakura,
associate general manager of market-making at Sumitomo Mitsui
Trust Bank.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese fund managers slightly increased their asset allocations to shares on the prospect of more monetary easing in the developed world and a pickup in Chinese economy, a Reuters poll showed.

At the same time, however, they trimmed their weighting on Japanese shares to seven-month low as they viewed Tokyo shares’ strong performance this month as driven by unrealistic hopes of more money-printing in Japan after next month’s election.

TOKYO (Reuters) – The yen slipped from a one-week high hit overnight on Thursday and the euro regained some footing after comments from U.S. policy makers rekindled hopes of a deal to avert a sharp fiscal tightening.

“For the moment, the U.S. fiscal cliff seems to be a dominant theme for the market,” said Katsunori Kitakura, associate general manager of market-making at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

TOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Japanese government bond prices
gained on Wednesday, with the benchmark 10-year bond yield
hitting a 9-1/2-year low, as investors worried about lack of
progress in negotiations to avert a fiscal crisis in the U.S.
sought safe-haven debt.

But longer maturities failed to maintain gains, lifting the
10- and 20-year yield spread to match a 13-year high hit last
week on speculation of radical monetary easing after a likely
change in the Japanese government after an election next month.

TOKYO, Nov 27 (Reuters) – The yen’s four percent decline in
less than two weeks could herald a longer-term trend as
investors have begun pricing in a possible game-changing shift
in monetary policy after Japan’s Dec. 16 election as the likely
winner favours aggressive easing.

Shinzo Abe, the leader of the main opposition Liberal
Democratic Party, wants the Bank of Japan to set an inflation
target of 2 percent, and embark on “unlimited easing”, adopting
negative interest rates and printing more money.

TOKYO, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Japanese government bond prices
were mostly little changed on Tuesday, supported by hopes of
month-end buying from pension funds but lacked fresh impetus to
extend their rally beyond a key resistance level.

Longer maturities such as 20- and 30-year bonds remained
fragile, still smarting from concerns that main opposition party
leader Shinzo Abe, seen as a front-runner to become prime
minister after an election next month, will push for radical
monetary easing.