The yen weakened against all 16 major counterparts as reports showed Japan’s exports rose more than forecast and South Korea’s economy grew faster than expected, spurring investors to buy higher-yielding assets. Australia’s dollar traded near the strongest level since May on expectations a July 28 report will show the nation’s second-quarter consumer prices gained at the fastest pace since the three months ended September 2009.

“Asia-Pacific economies are growing steadily,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co. Ltd. in Tokyo. “There’s risk-taking sentiment, which is a factor for selling the yen and the dollar.”

The yen fell to 113.30 per euro as of 9:36 a.m. in Tokyo from 112.90 in New York on July 23. It dropped to 87.66 per dollar from 87.46. The euro was at $1.2926 from $1.2909.

Australia’s currency traded at 89.56 U.S. cents from 89.57 cents. It reached 89.71 on July 23, the most since May 14. The currency rose to 78.51 yen from 78.33 yen.

Japan’s exports rose 27.7 percent in June from a year earlier, the government said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for 23.5 percent.

South Korea’s gross domestic product expanded 1.5 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months, when it gained 2.1 percent, the central bank said in Seoul today. That was more than the 1.3 percent gain forecast in a survey.

“It was another good quarter thanks to robust exports, justifying this month’s rate rise,” Lee Sang Jae, an economist at Hyundai Securities Co. in Seoul, said before the release. “Policy makers will continue to normalize rates, raising them at least twice more to 2.75 percent by year-end.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares rose 0.4 percent, advancing for a second day. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.2 percent.

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