Yen plunges after conservative win in Japan elections
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People walk by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo on Dec 13, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
TOKYO (AFP) - The yen plunged in Asian currency markets on Monday after Japan's conservative opposition swept to victory in national polls, with promises from its leader to press for more central bank easing.
In early Tokyo trade, the US dollar bought 84.30 yen, up from 83.52 yen in New York on Friday, the greenback's strongest level against the Japanese currency in more than a year and a half.
The euro also soared to multi-month highs at 111.10 yen from 109.94 yen in US trade.
On Sunday, voters dumped Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda three years after his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) promised a change from more than half a century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
