The Japanese yen rallied overnight ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting, as the markets anticipated that the central bank would announce an end to its credit-easing programs. Ultimately, the BOJ left rates unchanged at 0.10 percent and kept their liquidity programs, but with BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa saying that the “environment for corporate debt issuance is in good shape, except low-rated debt,” and that there is receding need to support the market, it seems very likely that they will wind down the programs before year end. As a result, the Japanese yen was able to maintain some of its strength against the US dollar and New Zealand dollar, despite sharp rallies in equities, though the currency did drop versus the rest of the majors.