By Yasuhiko Seki and Ron Harui April 5 (Bloomberg) -- The yen rose against the dollar, ending four days of losses, on speculation Japanese exporters bought the nation’s currency after it touched a seven-month low. Japan’s currency also advanced against the greenback as technical charts showed its 4.5 percent slide over the past two weeks was excessive. The pound gained versus all its major counterparts after polls showed the U.K.’s main opposition Conservative Party extended its lead over Gordon Brown’s ruling Labour Party, easing concern political turmoil will derail the recovery. Malaysia’s ringgit led Asian currencies higher. “There’s talk that exporters are buying the yen, possibly because it’s at attractive levels,” said Takashi Kudo, general manager of market information at NTT SmartTrade Inc., a unit of Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. in Tokyo. “The currency also seems oversold, so this may be another yen-buying factor. The yen climbed to 94.39 per dollar as of 1:01 p.m. in Tokyo from 94.61 in New York last week, after earlier dropping to 94.79, the weakest since Aug. 24. The currency advanced to 127.62 per euro from 127.75. The pound gained 0.4 percent to $1.5269. The dollar fell to $1.3523 per euro from $1.3504. Financial markets in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong are closed today for the Easter holiday. The dollar’s 14-day relative strength index against the yen was at 74.5 today, according to Bloomberg data. A reading above the 70 threshold suggests that gains may be overdone and can indicate the currency is about to change direction. Japan’s large manufacturers expect the currency to average 91 per dollar this fiscal year ending March 2011, according to the Bank of Japan’s most recent Tankan survey. Pound Gains The pound gained for the sixth time in seven days after a YouGov Plc poll for the Sunday Times showed support for David Cameron’s Conservatives was 39 percent, while Labour had 29 percent and the Liberal Democrats 20 percent. A survey for the Sunday Express newspaper by Canadian pollsters Angus Reid put the Conservatives at 38 percent, 11 points ahead of Labour. Newspapers including the Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Times said Brown will name the date of the election on April 6. A vote must be held by June 3. “The polls seem to suggest that the U.K. political situation is gradually heading toward stabilization,” said Toshiya Yamauchi, senior currency analyst in Tokyo at online currency trading company Ueda Harlow Ltd. “Signs of political stabilization, combined by waning expectations for additional quantitative monetary measures amid the plethora of positive data, will support the currency.” Euro Strengthens The euro strengthened versus the dollar as record futures bets that Europe’s single currency will weaken signaled pessimism about the region is excessive. Figures from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed the difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on a decline in the euro compared with those on a gain -- so-called net shorts -- was 85,326 on March 30, compared with net shorts of 74,917 a week earlier. Malaysia’s ringgit led Asian currencies higher as gains in regional stocks boosted demand for emerging-market assets. The ringgit also advanced for a fourth day after the government reported exports gained for a third month. Exports rose 18.4 percent from a year earlier in February after climbing 37 percent the previous month, according to data released April 2 after the close of trading in Malaysia’s financial markets. “The economic recovery theme is attracting foreigners to ringgit assets,” said Tan Voon Ching, a foreign-exchange trader at OSK Investment Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. “There’s a lot of confidence in the economic outlook for this year.” The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index climbed 0.1 percent and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.4 percent. The ringgit advanced 0.5 percent to 3.2325 per dollar. To contact the reporters on this story: Yasuhiko Seki in Tokyo at yseki5@bloomberg.net; Ron Harui in Singapore at rharui@bloomberg.net.

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