Yen weakens against Sing$ as Ishiba resignation threatens long bond sell-off

Japanese markets face the prospect of more instability as investors prepare for the departure of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and the guessing game of who comes next.

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TOKYO -

The yen slid as much as 0.8 per cent against the US dollar on Sept 8, before paring losses to trade down 0.3 per cent. Japanese shares rallied thanks to the positive tailwind from the weaker yen.

The Japanese currency also weakened against the Singapore dollar, falling as much as 0.6 per cent to 115.403 in the morning, before recovering some ground.

It was down 0.3 per cent at 115.067 per Singdollar as at 3:48 pm Singapore time.

Long-maturity Japanese sovereign bonds stood out as being particularly vulnerable to selling when that market got under way, given heightened concerns over government spending. The rally in US Treasuries on Sept 5 has some potential to temper the initial moves in Japanese debt on Sept 8.