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As surprise gives way to scrutiny of the men set to lead Japan's central bank for the next five years, investors are dialling back bets on swift shifts away from super-easy policy settings.
The yen strengthened on Friday, before trimming some of its gains, after Kazuo Ueda, the figure reportedly tapped as the next Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor, said the central bank's monetary policy was appropriate. The Nikkei had earlier reported the government would nominate academic Ueda to the BOJ's top job, sending the yen surging across the board as markets anticipated a possible earlier end to ultra-loose monetary policy.
They are going to keep that, and maybe even make it more firm." "The market reaction of higher yen and higher yields is understandable, because Ueda is relatively unknown, but as his stance becomes more clear, I think the market still start to calm down." SAISUKE SAKAI, SENIOR ECONOMIST AT MIZUHO RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGIES: "Basically, whoever becomes next BOJ governor, it is not the situation in which the current monetary easing stance to be changed sooner.
Japanese markets reacted with shock on Friday to news that the government had picked academic Kazuo Ueda to be the next central bank governor, but investors quickly snapped up the yen and sold bonds
By Harry Robertson and Ankur Banerjee LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japanese markets reacted with shock on Friday to news that the government had picke...