Bloomberg: Yen Advances; Report Shows Foreigners Increasing Buying of Japan’s Assets

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) — The yen advanced for the first day
this week after a report showed foreign investors were net
buyers of Japanese assets last week.

Foreign investors bought a net 1.06 trillion yen ($8.9
billion) worth of Japanese bonds, stocks and short-term
securities during the period, according

to the report released
by the Ministry of Finance, resulting in a net fund inflow to
the nation of 966.1 billion yen, up from 18.3 billion the
previous week. The yen also drew support as Japan’s Nikkei 225
Stock Average extended a rally to a more than 4-year high today.

“The data lead to speculation foreign investors will
increase fund inflows to Japan, supporting the yen,” said
Minoru Shioiri, a currency manager in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ
Securities Co., a unit of the world’s biggest lender by assets.
“The Nikkei at a 4-year high is also supporting such
speculation. That’s good for the yen, especially given the level
of its exchange rate.”

Japan’s currency gained to 118.86 per dollar as of 9:35 a.m.
in Tokyo from 119.19 late yesterday in New York, according to
the electronic foreign-exchange dealing system EBS. The currency
yesterday dropped to the lowest since August 2003. The yen may
gain to around 118.70 today, Shioiri said.

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