Dollar climbs against broadly weaker yen

The dollar rose to two-week highs against the yen on Tuesday
(February 18th) as the Japanese currency dropped across the
board.

USD/JPY advanced to 102.75 in the Asian session, its highest
since the end of January, after the Bank of Japan decided to
increase lending and said it would continue easing until it reached
its inflation goal.

The bank, which last year launched a massive monetary stimulus
programme to spur inflation, doubled a growth lending scheme and
said banks could borrow twice as much cash at low interest rates as
before.

Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the euro, with the
single currency trading close to its highest this year versus the
greenback at a little over 1.37.

Sterling was slightly lower as the
GBP/USD exchange rate slipped just below 1.67, though it
remains close to a four-year high hit on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was close to its highest in
over a month against its US counterpart.

The Aussie bought slightly more than 90 cents on Tuesday
morning, after minutes from the last Reserve
Bank of Australia policy meeting shows it plans to keep
interest rates on hold for some time.

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