* Dollar weak, hits 15-year low vs. yen in early trade
* Asian stocks, metals rally as cheap money trade continues
* Weak U.S. jobs data adds fuel to Fed easing speculation
* IMF, G7 offers no fix for currency market tensions
* Corn jumps most since 1972 on U.S. supply worries
(Updates with European open, adds comment)
By Vikram S.Subhedar
HONG KONG, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The dollar slid to a 15-year
low against the yen and Asian stocks rose on Monday as U.S.
jobs data boosted the chances of easier U.S. monetary policy
and IMF and G7 meetings produced little to ease global currency
tension.
Major European stocks opened slightly higher, mirroring
gains in Asia and on Wall Street with the FTSEEurofirst 300
<> rising 0.2 percent in early trade to 1,072.60.
Finance leaders meeting over the weekend in Washington
produced no quick fix for global economic imbalances,
suggesting the cheap money trade of selling dollars to buy
emerging market assets and commodities looks set to continue
for now.
That was further spurred by weaker-than-expected jobs data
in the United States on Friday that raised the chances the
Federal Reserve would inject fresh funds into the economy as
soon as its Nov. 2-3 meeting. []
"At the end of the day we are going to have QE2 one way or
the other and we are going to to have currency rebalancing. The
question is how to play this now," said Geoff Howie, sales and
markets strategist at MF Global in Singapore, referring to a
second round of quantative easing.
One group that stands to benefit is commodities that stand
to gain on the back of rapid growth in developing Asian
economies as well as persistent dollar weakness.
Metals rallied with London copper hitting a fresh 27-month
peak while Shanghai zinc futures <SZNc3> rose 5 percent to its
upside limit of 18.875 yuan a tonne.
The dollar weakened broadly against a basket of currencies
<.DXY> and against the yen fell as far as 81.37 yen <JPY=>, its
lowest level in 15 years. It later recovered to 81.99. []
Although Japan is closed for a national holiday on Monday,
the dollar's slide put markets on alert for potential
intervention by the Bank of Japan, especially since the G7 and
the IMF didn't produce any overt criticism of Tokyo's yen
selling. []
But with the yen already trading above the levels at which
the BOJ intervened last month and the dollar's persistent
weakness, any impact from intervention may be short-lived.
"Corporate Japan is just going to have to wake up and deal
with a yen at or around 80. No amount of intervention is going
to make much difference," said Howie.
The MSCI Asia ex-Japan stock index <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.6
percent on expectations that a flood of investment funds into
emerging markets would continue.
Hong Kong shares <> hit a more than 2-year peak,
breaking out of a trading range that has held since November
2009 and leading a broad rally in Asian markets.
CORN RISES MOST SINCE 1972
Chicago corn jumped 8.5 percent for its biggest gain in 28
years, boosted by a U.S. government forecast that supplies in
the world's top exporter would shrink to their lowest in 14
years. []
Chicago Board of Trade December corn futures <Cc1> surged
as much as 45 cents to hit a high of $5.73-
