Reply #10: Yen above 2-wk low vs dlr in Europe after BOJ move

[EuroObserver]

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - The yen came off an earlier two-week low against the dollar at the start of European trade to hold steady on Thursday after the Bank of Japan ended its five-year-old ultra-easy monetary policy.
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"We had a knee-jerk reaction to 118.30 as the market focused on the phrase saying that interest rates will be kept low," said Carsten Fritsch, currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

"We still need to figure out what it means for the yen but I won't be surprised to see the yen going higher later. Today's decision means the end of zero interest rate policy is coming closer. Less liquidity is available for yen carry trades and that should be positive for the yen."

By 0730 GMT the dollar stood at 117.83 yen <JPY=>, near late New York levels on Wednesday, having hit a two-week high of 118.31 earlier in Asian trading.

The euro was up 0.2 percent at 140.77 yen <EURJPY=>. ...more...