* Investors wary of further BOJ easing, intervention
* ECB eyed for liquidity, growth comments
* U.S. private sector shed 169,000 jobs in November
* ECB policy meeting, U.S. nonfarm payrolls loom
(Updates prices, adds comment, detail)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The dollar rose against the yen
on Wednesday after Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said
the yen's rise cannot be left "as it is" and on speculation the
Bank of Japan may take additional easing measures.
The euro slipped against the dollar in choppy trading ahead
of a policy meeting on Thursday of the European Central Bank,
which is expected to announce details of how and when it will
remove generous liquidity from the system. The ECB could also
upgrade its economic growth forecasts.
A clear signal from the ECB about stimulus withdrawal could
curb risk appetite. For scenarios story, see [].
Japan's Hatoyama on Wednesday said it was unclear if the
yen's recent rise was temporary but it could not be left "as it
is," the Nikkei business newspaper reported on its website.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano downplayed
Hatoyama's remarks and said they were not a comment about
currency intervention. See [] [].
The Bank of Japan's measures unveiled on Tuesday to combat
deflation and keep short-term interest rates down also prompted
investors betting on a stronger yen to square positions.
There are "concerns about the risk of further quantitative
measures from the Bank of Japan or even intervention, which
were exacerbated by the (PM) comments overnight and by the Bank
of Japan's policy announcement yesterday," said Daniel Katzive,
currency strategist at Credit Suisse in New York. "That's made
the market a little bit nervous."
In midday trading, the dollar rose 0.7 percent to 87.26 yen
<JPY=>, pulling further away from a 14-year low of 84.82 yen
hit on electronic trading platform EBS last week. Traders said
a break above 87.50 yen would trigger pre-placed buy orders and
herald a stronger push higher.
A BOJ policymaker signaled on Wednesday the Japanese
central bank was open to adopting more measures to support the
economy following its emergency meeting the previous day that
offered extra short-term funding. See []
The BOJ move "suggests a commitment on the part of BOJ
officials to maintain an ultra-accommodative policy stance for
the foreseeable future," said Omer Esiner, senior market
analyst at Travelex Global Business Payments in Washington. "It
(also) hints that officials are somewhat closer to potentially
intervening in the market if yen appreciation continues at the
current pace."
ECB, PAYROLLS LOOM
The dollar index <.DXY>, which measures the greenback
against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.3
percent on the day at 74.580, not far above last week's near
16-month low of 74.170.
The euro rose 0.5 percent to 131.37 yen <EURJPY=>. Against
the dollar, it was down 0.2 percent <EUR=> at $1.5051, below a
near 16-month high of $1.5145 set on EBS last week.
A senior International Monetary Fund official said on
Wednesday the euro was on "the strong side" against the dollar,
echoing a view expressed in an IMF report the previous day.
[]
Earlier, a report showed the U.S. economy shed 169,000
private-sector jobs in November. While that was fewer than the
195,000 lost in October, it was higher than an economists'
forecast for a loss of 155,000. For more see [].
"ADP is worse than expected, so it could be a negative for
risk appetite," said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist at
Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey.
"But I have to think that with the ECB tomorrow and U.S.
payrolls on Friday, we're not going to be going very far
today," he added. "There's a risk (Jean-Claude Trichet) is more
explicit about stimulus withdrawal, and that would be a problem
for the risk trade."
The government is slated to release U.S. November nonfarm
payrolls data on Friday.
Credit Suisse analyst Katzive said the dollar also gained
versus the yen on speculation a strong jobs report would lift
U.S. short-term yields higher.
But overall, the dollar remains "pretty vulnerable," he
said, and if the jobs data doesn't succeed in pushing front-end
U.S. yields higher, "then the dollar is probably going to
remain under pressure into the year-end."
(Additional reporting by Steven C. Johnson; Editing by
Andrew Hay)
((wanfeng.zhou@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6304; Reuters
Messaging: wanfeng.zhou.reuters.com@reuters.net))
