Dollar advances vs. yen to 4-month high near 151 line in New York

NEW YORK (Kyodo) — The dollar rose to just below the 151 yen line on Tuesday in New York, a level unseen since November last year, as expectations the Bank of Japan will maintain its accommodative stance spurred dollar-buying and yen-selling.

At 5 p.m., the dollar was quoted at 150.82-92 yen, compared with 150.25-27 yen at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Tokyo, after briefly hitting 150.96 yen.

Kazuo Ueda, the governor of the Japanese central bank, on Tuesday announced an end to its negative interest rate policy that had been in place for years.

Ueda also indicated, however, that accommodative conditions are expected to continue, bucking the trend in the United States and Europe of keeping key interest rates at elevated levels to fight inflation.

The dollar advanced against the yen in New York, with the U.S. Federal Reserve widely expected to announce Wednesday it will keep key interest rates at the current level, highlighting the difference in monetary policies of the two countries.