The yen fell to a record low against the euro on speculation the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates at a slower pace than the European Central Bank.
The Japanese yen slid against 15 of 16 major currencies after a government report today showed companies spent less than forecast on business investment in the third quarter, weakening the central bank's case for raising its benchmark rate from 0.25 percent.
``Japanese investors are very much fed up with near zero interest rates,'' said Yuuki Sakurai, general manager of investment planning in Tokyo at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co., which manages the equivalent of $33 billion in stocks and bonds. ``We are sending money constantly overseas.'' Fukoku may invest about the $1 billion in overseas assets in the six months ended March 31, he said.
The yen slipped to 154.00 per euro as of 3:20 p.m. in Tokyo, after falling to 154.18, the lowest since the European currency was introduced in January 1999, from 153.96 in New York on Dec. 1. It also dropped to 115.62 against the dollar from 115.44.
Business investment rose 12 percent in the three months ended September 30, the Ministry of Finance said in a report, below the 15.3 percent median forecast of six economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. A report on Dec. 1 showed core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food, rose a slower-than- expected 0.1 percent from a year earlier.