Speculators turn net long on yen for first time since February

TOKYO, Sept. 13 (Reuters) - Speculators turned to a net long position on the yen for the first time since February, data showed late on Friday, a display of growing momentum behind Japan's beleaguered currency.

Yen futures data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed net non-commercial positions 1097741NNET amounting to 10,796 long contracts in the week to September 8. That is a reversal from net shorts of 92,227 for the week prior and the first overall long reading since February 24.

The yen has surged this month on expectations for an accelerated schedule of rate hikes by the Bank of Japan and a potential repatriation of assets by local investors. The dollar-yen rate reached 152.89 on September 8, the strongest level for the currency since February 17.

A years-long weakening trend for the yen accelerated with the election of fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi as prime minister last October and a sense that the BOJ was behind the curve in tightening monetary policy.

The yen slid to a four-decade low of 163.99 per dollar in July before a market intervention by Tokyo and Washington to bolster the currency.