Yen Drops, Japan's Stocks Rise as Takaichi Faces Ishiba in Vote
The yen declined against the dollar and Japanese bond futures rose as Sanae Takaichi and Shigeru Ishiba headed to a run-off vote for the leadership of their nation's ruling party. Stocks extended gains.
The currency weakened as much as 1.2% to 146.49 and sovereign bonds rallied after leadership contest narrowed to the pair. Although the Bank of Japan is independent from the government, speculation of political pressure on monetary policy is leading traders to bet on the election results.
The focus is on Takaichi, who argued earlier this week that "it's stupid to raise rates now" given the merits of a weak yen. If elected she could become Japan's first female prime minister.
"The depreciation of the yen is a move in preparation for a Takaichi victory in the LDP leader election" said Akira Moroga, chief market strategist at Aozora Bank.
The yield on two-year Japanese government notes dropped as much as 3 basis points to 0.31% before retracing some of the move, while benchmark 10-year bond yields fell as low as 0.80%.
Source: Bloomberg
