Japanese Yen Rebounds, but Economic Worries Persist

In trading in Tokyo today, the Japanese Yen had small gains, but remained in striking distance of a 6-week low versus the U.S. Dollar, and a month-long low against the Euro.  All this as investors continue to worry about the health of the Japanese economy.  According to a foreign securities manager from Okasan Securities in Japan, very few investors are aggressively picking in the Japanese Yen, because most investors don’t find Japanese assets appealing right now.  Any gains in the Yen is attributed to carry trade unwinding, where investors use lower yielding currencies to finance their purchase of assets and currencies elsewhere that are higher yielding. 

While such trades are considered riskier, the steady unwinding of the Yen over the past 12 months has boosted the currency to its highest peak in 13 years versus the U.S. Dollar, and a 7-year high (last month) against the Euro.  As reported at 6:40 p.m. JST, the U.S. Dollar lost .1% to 94.12 Yen, from yesterday’s trading. 

Meanwhile, the Euro slid further, falling .3% to $1.2634 versus the U.S. Dollar; Euro trading yesterday was higher by more then 1%.  According to analysts, the Euro will likely continue to slide as currencies and share prices in Eastern Europe remain at historical lows.