After gaining 0.3 per cent on Wednesday, the euro rose 0.1 per cent in Tokyo to $1.2617 or 98.90 yen as of 11:04 a. m. today, toward a two-month high against the US dollar, thanks to optimism that the European Central Bank (ECB) will today announce more aggressive measures to fix the region's debt crisis.

ECB chief Mario Draghi is expected to announce unrestricted, sterilized bond buying on Thursday. The process of sterilization involves draining money from other sections of the financial system to counterbalance new funds added.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who recently sparked a global stock rise, is working with several national governments in the region as well as outside to take steps to reduce the high cost of borrowings in Spain and Italy.

The European Central Bank should launch a U. S.-style asset purchase programme if economic conditions change, executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said, opening the door to a possible policy shift at the bank to combat deflation. Bini Smaghi, who steps down from the ECB next week, told the Financial Times on Friday that, if required, "I would see no reason why such an instrument tailor-made for specific characteristics of the euro area should not be used." Quantitative easing would be appropriate "if ...