* Yen hits new 3-month low of 97.35 per dollar
* Yen on defensive as safe-haven status continues to fade
* Japan exports plunge a record 45.7 pct in January
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The yen fell across the board on Wednesday, hitting a fresh three-month low against the dollar as its perceived safe-haven status continued to crumble on a rapidly weakening Japanese economy and domestic political woes.
Along with the dollar, the yen had served as a safe-haven unit this year amid slides in stock markets worldwide, but it began losing its appeal when data last week showed Japan's economy shrank the most in 35 years during the October-December quarter.
Japan's exporters, the main driver for the economy, have been hurt amid the global economic slump and data released on Wednesday showed exports plunged a record 45.7 percent in January from a year earlier.
"The yen has turned vulnerable as many beliefs about Japan have become a thing of the past, and one of those was that the economy has the support of a big trade surplus," said Tsutomu Soma, senior manager of the foreign securities department at Okasan Securities.
The yen has also been under pressure after Japan's finance minister suddenly resigned last week, fanning fears of political instability, and traders add that yen demand resulting from derivatives' unwinding has also ebbed.
Traders said the yen's retreat on Wednesday was led by hedge funds unwinding long positions on the Japanese currency, initially formed on expectations it would strengthen as Japanese investors repatriate funds towards the March fiscal year-end.
A lack of persistent dollar selling by Japanese exporters, who usually sell the greenback when it appreciates against the yen, has also hastened the yen's fall, they said.
The dollar rose 0.7 percent to 97.32 yen after touching a three-month high of 97.35 yen on trading platform EBS.
The euro gained 0.5 percent to 124.79 yen after hitting a seven-week high of 125.01 yen on EBS. The yen also fell against sterling and the Australian dollar.
The euro dipped 0.1 percent to $1.2831.
HEDGE FUNDS LIGHTEN POSITIONS
Market players said technical moves were also behind the dollar's push above the 97.00 yen threshold on Wednesday.
"There was no fresh news behind the dollar jump. Some participants wanted to take out knockout options at the key level before they expire," said a trader at a large Japanese bank.
"Hedge funds and foreign institutional investors are also continuing to lighten their yen long positions on the ongoing Japan-negative theme," the trader said.
Unlike the yen, the greenback's safe-haven status has stayed intact, drawing demand on Tuesday from risk averse investors after a report showing U.S. consumer confidence plunged to another record low in February.
Impetus also came after the dollar broke through technical chart levels, with the U.S. unit jumping above 96 yen on Tuesday, a 38.2 percent retracement of its fall between August and January.
The focus is on if and when the yen's broad retreat will end.
"The yen has lost a lot of ground and its retreat could slow soon, although that depends on whether speculators have finished unwinding their positions on the yen," said Koji Fukaya, a senior currency strategist at Deutsche Securities.
"Yen bears should keep in mind that Japanese investors could still repatriate funds," Fukaya said.
Analysts said repatriation by Japanese investors could accelerate if they suffer further losses on their domestic equity holdings and are forced to send funds back home.
Tokyo's Nikkei stock average jumped 2.7 percent following a media report that the Japanese government may buy shares from the market, but the index still remained within sight of a 26-year low struck in October. (Additional reporting by Rika Otsuka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)