Yen hits fresh low for 2012 The yen hit a fresh low for 2012 after the Bank of Japan released minutes of its last meeting and Shinzo Abe was sworn in as the new Japanese prime minister. The dollar rose 0.8 per cent to Y85.48, its strongest level against the yen since April 2011, as Mr Abe, who has vowed to get tough on deflation in Japan, took office. Minutes from the BoJ's November meeting weighed on the currency as analysts noted a dovish bias, with discussion among members about how to weaken the yen further. "Monetary policy settings were left unchanged at that particular meeting but a dovish message came through loud and clear - exactly as one might expect in the lead-up to last week's decision which delivered another round of easing," said Gareth Berry, foreign exchange analyst at UBS. The key message for forex investors is that, having taken a mostly passive interest in the yen over the past few years, the policy board now seems willing to adjust its policy stance in a conscious effort to weaken the currency. The Australian dollar rose 0.8 per cent against the yen to Y88.612 while the euro gained 0.9 per cent to Y112.84. The US dollar was weaker against other major currencies amid reports that President Barack Obama was to cut short his holiday and return to Washington to continue last-minute negotiations on the fiscal cliff, a combination of tax rises and spending cuts set to come into effect on January 1. The dollar has been trading closely in line with negotiations on the fiscal cliff in recent weeks, tending to strengthen on haven demand when investors are concerned about the developments and weaken when talks show signs of reaching a resolution and risk appetite improves. The US currency fell 0.2 per cent against the Swiss franc to SFr0.9141 while the Australian dollar was 0.1 per cent higher at $1.0379. Elsewhere, the euro was higher against the dollar even as European markets remained shut for the seasonal holidays. The single currency rose 0.2 per cent to $1.3212 and looked set to close the year higher than it started against the dollar, having opened 2012 at a level of $1.2937.