USD/JPY above 103 on Risk Seeking

The yen fell against all of its 16 major peers as investors sought riskier assets and concern mounted that inflation will fall short of the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent goal, spurring more monetary easing.

Japan’s currency fell after the head of an advisory panel called on Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund to reduce domestic-debt holdings. The dollar declined versus most of its major counterparts even as the Labor Department reported payrolls increased by 203,000 in November, versus the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey for a 185,000 gain. The 17-nation euro gained versus the dollar after European Central Bank refrained yesterday from adding to monetary stimulus.

“There’s still these doubts among Japanese officials and elsewhere that they’re going to reach this 2 percent inflation target,” Eric Viloria, senior currency strategist at Gain Capital Group LLC in New York, said in a phone interview. “As long as those doubts linger, then that’s something that could weigh on the yen because it suggests more easing may be needed from the Bank of Japan.”

Bloomberg

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