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Yen drops on Nikkei rise, oil gain helps euro

Published 10/29/2008, 09:32 PM
Updated 10/29/2008, 09:34 PM

* Euro jumps nearly 3 pct vs yen on Nikkei's 3 pct rise

* Overnight rally in oil helps commodity-related currencies

By Rika Otsuka

TOKYO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The yen fell broadly on Thursday as a rise in Tokyo share prices and growing expectations the Bank of Japan could cut interest rates this week prompted investors to take profits on the Japanese currency's surge this month.

The euro rose against the dollar, rebounding further from a 2-1/2-year low hit earlier this week as a sharp rally in oil overnight encouraged investors to pick up currencies that had been battered during a steep and rapid slide in recent months from record highs near $150 in mid-July.

"The strength in stocks is hurting the yen," said a forex trader at a Japanese trust bank. "But it is not yet enough to warm up investor risk appetite, and people are only buying back what has been oversold."

Tokyo's Nikkei share average was up 3 percent by mid-morning, moving further away from a 26-year low below 7,000 hit earlier this week.

The dollar rose 1.6 percent to 99.00 yen, staying well above a 13-year trough of 90.87 yen hit on trading platform EBS late last week.

The euro climbed 1.2 percent to $1.3115, extending its rebound from a 2-1/2-year low of $1.2329 struck on EBS on Tuesday.

The European single currency jumped 2.9 percent against the yen to 129.86 yen. The euro hit a 6-1/2-year low below 114 yen on last Friday.

The euro and other higher-yielding currencies fell to multi-year lows last week as fund managers dumped yen carry trades, in which investors use the low-yielding yen to finance purchases of assets offering higher returns elsewhere.

The dollar dropped against major currencies on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to the lowest level since 2004 to combat the financial crisis and the weakening U.S. economy.

As expected, the U.S. central bank slashed the fed funds rate by a half-percentage point on Wednesday to 1 percent and left the door open to further reductions if needed. (Editing by Michael Watson)

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