2018.01.2303:30:00UTC+00Yen Falls After BoJ Kuroda's Comments

The Japanese yen reversed direction and weakened against its major rivals in pre-European deals on Tuesday, after the Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated his commitment to continue its current monetary easing policy.

With inflation still far from 2 percent goal, the board is not in a position yet to debate the timing of an exit from ultra-easy monetary policy, Kuroda said at the press conference post-BOJ meeting.

"For Japan's economy, it's important for the BOJ to patiently continue with powerful monetary easing," he said.

"As for the future, we will decide appropriately looking at the economy, prices and financial developments from the viewpoint of achieving 2 percent inflation at the earliest date possible," he added.

The yen fell back to 111.18 against the greenback, from an early high of 110.55.

The yen weakened to 4-day lows of 115.50 against the franc and 89.24 against the loonie, from its early highs of 115.03 and 88.81, respectively.

The yen slipped to a 5-day low of 136.22 against the euro and a 1-1/2-year low of 155.40 against the pound, off its previous highs of 135.61 and 154.67, respectively.

If the yen falls further, it may find support around 113.00 against the greenback, 138.00 against the euro, 117.00 against the franc, 158.00 against the pound and 91.00 against the loonie.