Yen sold for first time in six years

Tokyo: Japan intervened in the currency markets yesterday to sell yen for the first time in six years and promised more to come in a bid to stop its relentless rise from threatening a fragile economic recovery.

Fresh after victory in a party leadership contest, Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan appeared to be stepping up efforts to wrench the country out of deflation by targeting yen strength, which has weighed on stock prices and corporate profits.