Japan drives down yen to protect economy

Japan has followed Switzerland by weakening its currency against the dollar, in a bid to protect its fragile post-quake economy from speculator-driven rises. Both the yen and the Swiss franc have been boosted by investors seeking safe haven investments amid fears about growth in the US and volatile trading in European stock markets.

The Bank of Japan sold off more than one trillion yen (£7.7bn) during trading on Thursday, in an attempt to drive down its value. It also expanded its asset-purchasing fund and offered more cheap loans to financial firms to encourage them to keep lending.

Finance minister Yoshihiko Noda said the Japanese government needed to intervene. "Japan is just in the process of recovering from a natural disaster so these currency moves are certain to have a negative impact on the economy and financial markets," he said.

Read a full report at the Guardian ·