World News: Strong Call for Weaker Yen Spurs Talk of Copycat Moves
Unusual explicitness from Japan's new leaders has helped convince the market they are serious about weakening the yen to revive the nation's embattled exporters, but such moves threaten to complicate Tokyo's relations with the U.S. and other major trading partners.</br></br>Many central banks, including others in Asia as well as in Latin America, have been trying to keep their currencies from becoming too strong after the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank adopted super-loose monetary policies that have suppressed their currencies.</br></br>Confronted by weakening domestic growth, nations around the world are trying to support their economies by boosting exports. Weaker currencies make a country's exports cheaper. Japan's latest signals mark a bid to help its exporters as the yen faces upward pressure from investors fleeing trouble spots.</br></br>Senior Japanese officials, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have signaled they are determined to keep the dollar above 85 yen through further monetary easing and other bold measures.</br></br>The dollar broke above 86 yen after Asian markets closed Thursday, hitting a 28-month high of 86.16 yen. The yen has since regained some ground, capitalizing on its status as a haven, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) warned the U.S. may go over the fiscal cliff. At Thursday's peak, the dollar had climbed about 11% this quarter.