Yen slips from 18-month high

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SINGAPORE: The yen slipped from an 18-month high against the dollar on Wednesday, losing some steam as position squaring set in after its sharp rally since last week.

The dollar rose 0.6 percent to 107.22 yen, pulling away from Tuesday's low of 105.55 yen, the dollar's weakest level since October 2014.

The dollar's gains against the yen came in thin market conditions, with Japanese markets closed on Wednesday and Thursday for public holidays.

The dollar could see some whippy trading against the yen over the next couple of days until Tokyo market players return from their holidays, said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore.

"We could see some pretty high volatility," Okagawa said, adding that the greenback could see swings in the 107.50 yen to 105.55 yen area in the near term.

Market participants attributed the yen's pullback to position squaring in the wake of its sharp recent rally.

Last week, the yen saw its biggest weekly gain since 2008 - more than 5 percent against the dollar - as the Bank of Japan held off from expanding its stimulus.