FOREX-Yen up broadly, no imminent FX action seen

* Yen gains as BOJ signals Japan action on FX not imminent

* BOJ announces tweaks to fixed rate fund supply scheme

* BOJ's Shirakawa: policy steps not bound by yen, stocks

By Jessica Mortimer

LONDON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The yen rose broadly on Monday after the Bank of Japan failed to signal aggressive monetary easing measures to help curb yen strength at an emergency meeting, choosing only to expand a fund supply scheme.

Investors saw the moves as a symbolic gesture that will do little to halt the currency's climb, putting the onus on the Japanese government to act if the yen continues to rally. [ID:nTOE67S01V]

The yen hit the day's high against the dollar and the euro after Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said after meeting Prime Minister Naoto Kan that Kan had not made any requests on the central bank's monetary policy.

He also refused to comment on recent currency moves, following the yen's rally to a 15-year high against the dollar and a nine-year peak versus the euro last week, which some investors took as a green light to keep buying the yen.

"At the end of the day, the extension of the loan program and the economic measures are too tepid to spark a dramatic reversal of yen strength," said Roberto Mialich, currency strategist at Unicredit in Milan.

Kan said the government would compile steps to help the economy using 920 billion yen in budget reserves. [ID:nTKG006847]

Earlier in the day, Shirakawa had said policy steps will not be bound by moves in the yen and stocks and that the rise in the yen was due to investor risk aversion. [ID:nTKZ006509]

The BOJ's move and the official comments encouraged investors to add to long yen positions as the comments were seen as an indication that FX intervention by Japan was not imminent.

By 1032 GMT, the dollar JPY= had slipped 0.7 percent on the day to a session trough of 84.62 yen, according to Reuters data. It tumbled from the day's high around 85.90 yen hit before the BOJ announced its policy decision.

"People are once again putting on short dollar/yen positions, having reduced their long exposure ahead of the meeting," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen.

A trader in London said that stop-loss orders to sell the dollar under 84.90 yen helped to accelerate the U.S. currency's slide.

The euro EURJPY=R fell roughly 1 percent to around 107.50 yen. The shared currency's losses against the yen pulled it down 0.4 percent to $1.2700 EUR=.

Aside from the yen, currency movements were limited in European trade, with London markets closed for a holiday.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar .DXY dipped 0.1 percent to 82.842, while the Australian and New Zealand dollars were little changed versus their U.S. counterpart.

LONG YEN POSITIONS INCREASE

Analysts expect the yen to rise further against the dollar if expectations mount that the Federal Reserve will act to spur growth down the road, moving more aggressively than the BOJ.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday the economic recovery has weakened more than expected and the Fed stands ready to act if needed to spur slowing growth. [ID:nN27258237]

Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed investors increased long positions in the yen and the Swiss franc in the week to Aug. 24 as worries about a slowing global economy encourage investors to seek perceived safe-haven currencies. [IMM/FX]

Last week, the dollar fell to 83.58 yen on trading platform EBS, its weakest since 1995, on falls in U.S. Treasury yields and fears of a double-dip U.S. recession.

Sterling GBP=D4 rose 0.2 percent to $1.5560, supported after better-than-expected UK economic growth numbers on Friday. [ID:nLDE67Q0PR]

(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)