Euro gains against dollar, yen

Published June 28, 2006

LONDON, June 27: The euro rose slightly against the dollar on Tuesday while the yen hit lows against both currencies after the governor of the Japanese central bank was called on to resign.

The euro climbed to $1.2588 in early European trading from $1.2509 late on Monday in New York.

The yen fell to its lowest level for two months against the dollar, hitting an intra-day low of 116.70 yen/dollar, and the currency dropped to its lowest ever level against the euro since the creation of the European currency in 1999 at 146.64 yen/euro.The governor of the Bank of Japan, Toshihiko Fukui, faced a call to resign from a member of Japan's ruling coalition for the first time.

New Komeito, a Buddhist-oriented party inside the ruling coalition, called late Monday for the central banker to step down over his investment in a fund managed by Yoshiaki Murakami, a Japanese investor who has been indicted for insider trading.

—AFP