LONDON—The yen rose on Thursday amid increased speculation that Japan won't consider intervention to halt the currency's advance until after leadership elections are held by the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
Although Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda acknowledged that the ministry is looking at various intervention "simulations," the market is speculating that nothing will happen until after the DPJ chooses a new leader on Tuesday. The new leader will automatically become prime minister and means that the current prime minister, Naoto Kan, could be replaced by his main contender in the election, Ichiro Ozawa, who has expressed explicit support for intervention.
In the meantime, the risks of any imminent move to stop the yen's advance appears unlikely, especially after Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa denied that intervention was discussed in meetings with the government.
This helped to give the yen more upside potential with the dollar falling to 83.63 yen by midmorning from 83.92 yen late Wednesday in New York. The euro was also down at 106.36 yen from 106.72 yen but was hardly changed at $1.2717, compared with $1.2716.
Write to Nicholas Hastings at nick.hastings@dowjones.com
