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The yen weakened to a six-month low against the dollar and tumbled against the euro amid speculation the Bank of Japan will trail the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank in ending stimulus. Asian stocksnike running shoes online retreated after China raised interest rates for the fourth time since October.

The yen dropped 0.9 percent to 121.87 against the euro and fell 0.5 percent versus the dollar as of 4:30 p.m. in Tokyo. Taiwan's currency rose the most in three months before a report that may show inflation quickened. Ten-year Treasury yields approached a four-week high. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures gained 0.3 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.2 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed. Copper advanced.

Policy makers are exploring ways to ease stimulus as the global economy recovers, with the ECB set to lift rates from a record low and Fed officials split on their view of the U.S. economy. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the cycle of higher Chinese rates may be "close to an end" after yesterday's increase. Concerns about Japan following March 11's record earthquake remained elevated after Moody's Investors Service said it may cut its rating on Toyota Motor Corp.

"It's not an easy environment to be investing in right now as we're at the cross roads for both the developing and emerging world," said Pearlyn Wong, an investment analyst at Bank Julius Baer Group Ltd., which manages about $262 billion in client assets worldwide. buy Reebok ZigTech online "Investors are watching every single piece of data to see where central banks are headed. We're in the middle of an interest-rate upcycle, with the tail-end likely to come by the end of this year."

BOJ, ECB

The yen weakened against all 16 most active counterparts. The Bank of Japan will likely keep its target rate at zero to 0.1 percent at the end of a two-day policy meeting tomorrow, while the ECB is forecast to lift its main rate by a quarter- percentage point from 1 percent at its meeting tomorrow, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

"Central banks worldwide seem to be heading for an exit from monetary easing, whereas the central bank here may lag behind," said Akira Hoshino, Tokyo-based chief manager of foreign-exchange trading at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., a unit of Japan's largest lender by market value. "The yen is likely to be the weakest currency."

Japan's currency traded at 85.29 after earlier reaching 85.53 per dollar, the weakest since Sept. 21. Minutes from the Fed's March 15 meeting showed the Federal Open Market Committee debated the path of monetary policy after the June completion of their $600 billion bond-purchase program.

Rate Bets

Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 3.49 percent, extending a jump of six basis points yesterday after the release of the minutes. Interest-rate futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade yesterday showed a 40 percent chance U.S. policy makers will increase the target lending rate by December, up from odds of 33 percent a day earlier. The Fed has kept its target rate for overnight lending between banks at zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke Fivefingers Kso-Vibram fivefingers Kso said this week policy makers will "have to respond" if estimates that faster inflation will be transitory prove incorrect. Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota have also suggested the central bank may need to consider raising interest rates this year.

"America's been pumping out cash and arguably some of that money's been finding its way into other parts of the world, including Asian share markets," said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which manages $98 billion in Sydney. "If it brings that easy monetary policy to an end, and more importantly starts tightening, investors might worry this might reduce the return potential for Asian equities and emerging markets generally."