Yen rises as risk wariness remains, Shirakawa eyed

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - The yen rose against the dollar and euro as a drop in Tokyo share prices renewed investor concern over riskier assets, while players awaited comments from Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa after he helped push through a smaller-than-expected interest rate cut.

The weakness in stocks reflected the gloomy outlook for the global economy despite global interest rate cuts -- prospects which weighed on high-yielding currencies, traders said.

The yen was likely to remain supported as investors unwind investments in riskier assets funded by the low-yielding yen, traders said.

The BOJ cut the benchmark overnight call rate for the first time in seven years, trimming it to 0.30 percent from 0.50 percent, joining global efforts to contain the financial crisis. But the board was split 4-4 -- perhaps reflecting the fact that such a cut would have little economic impact -- with Shirakawa casting the deciding vote.

"Most players are not really sure what message the BOJ wanted to send the market with this smaller-than-expected rate cut," said Tsutomu Soma, senior manager of foreign assets at Okasan Securities.

"So people have decided to wait until Governor Shirakawa explains the rate move," said Soma, though he added Japanese investors will wait to react until next week.

Japanese financial markets will be closed on Monday for a national holiday.

Shirakawa speaks at a post-meeting news conference later in the day.

The dollar fell 1.2 percent against the yen to 97.38 yen after rising to a high of 99.13 yen on Thursday. The U.S. dollar dropped more than 8 percent against the yen this month, the biggest slide since 1998.

The euro dropped 2.7 percent against the yen to 123.82 yen, off a high of 131.05 yen on Thursday.

The euro fell 1.4 percent at $1.2740, down sharply from a high of $1.3300 on Thursday.

The Nikkei average ended down 5.0 percent after rising for three straight days. The Nikkei plunged 24 percent this month, the largest monthly slide ever, as global fund managers dumped risk assets due to the financial crisis.

"The unwinding of risk assets continues to support the yen, which was used to fund such investments," said Takahide Nagasaki, chief forex strategist at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

"The market is currently not willing to sell the yen to look for new investments," he said but added that the yen's rise has been moderated by wariness over the possibility of intervention by authorities.

Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said on Friday the ministry had the means to intervene in the currency market, but he would not say if or when it would do so.

Earlier this week, Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors singled out the excessive volatility of the yen and said they were concerned about its implications for economic and financial stability.

The G7 statement raised investor caution that authorities could intervene to stem the yen's gains from market players unwinding carry trades.

The yen struck a 13-year peak against the dollar and a six-year peak against the euro this month, jumping roughly 15 percent on a trade-weighted basis.

The Australian dollar hit a record low against the yen last week as investors unwound yen carry trades. The Aussie plummeted 24 percent in October.

The BOJ's rate reduction follows a 50-basis-point rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve earlier in the week to cushion an economic downturn.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England hold policy meetings next week, and expectations for a large rate cut by these central banks following the Fed's move this week were undermining the euro and sterling, traders said.

(Additional reporting by Rika Otsuka)