Upsized fiscal plan, further bond issue dent yen

London

A LARGER than expected fiscal stimulus plan for Japan had the yen back on the defensive on Wednesday, as investors bet the Bank of Japan would match that with a new bout of money-printing aimed at weakening its currency.

Yen volatility has neared record highs in the past month on speculation, repeatedly denied by officials, that the BOJ will take the next step in eight years of emergency policymaking by handing money directly to the government with no strings attached.