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IMM currency futures finish mixed

CHICAGO: IMM currency futures finished mixed, with the European contracts settling mostly higher led by the yen, traders and analysts said on Wednesday.

Yen contracts rose early on follow-through buying on Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor Yasuo Matsushita's comments that it was natural for interest rates in Japan to rise in view of expectations of economic recovery.

The idea the cost of borrowing in Japan would increase immediately sent the dollar and U.S. bonds into a tailspin, and supported the June yen contract's rise to $0.009475. Marks and Swiss francs also benefited from the yen's advance.

Total volume was estimated at 19,000 for yen and 12,000 for marks. One U.S. bank sold between 1,000 and 2,000 June yen contracts, which pushed the price below $0.009440 at midday.

One French firm executing accounts for a large client rolled 2,000 June sterling options from calls into puts.

At the end of pit trade, June yen was up $0.000063 at $0.009452, marks were up $0.0008 at $0.6781, Swiss francs were off $0.0011 at $0.8425, sterling up $0.0018, Canadian dollars off $0.0013 at $0.7371, Australian dollars off $0.0016 at $0.7776 and Mexican pesos were off $0.000150 at $0.124450.-Reuter