By: Barbara Zigah
The Japanese Yen continues to rise versus the U.S. Dollar, touching on its highest trade in 14 years. As reported at 3:31 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Yen traded at 84.82 Yen, the highest point since 1995, before retreating to 86.05 Yen, a .6% rise on the day. It was learned that early in the day on Friday, the Bank of Japan, in conjunction with officials from the government, were inquiring about Dollar/Yen rates with some commercial banks, thus prompting traders to cover their long positions in the Japanese currency.
The Japanese currency also rose broadly against high-yielding currencies following the news of Dubai’s debt problems; specifically two of the country’s flagship corporations sought to delay repayment of their debt. Many investors, who previously looked to the Middle East region as a bastion of investment and capital sourcing, had their confidence shook, and raised concerns over the possibility of massive debt-related problems in the region. This led to investor unwinding of Japanese Yen-funded carry trades to the detriment of high-yielders, including the Australian Dollar, which slipped to 77.88 Yen, a loss of 1.6%, and the single-currency Euro, which fell to 126.95 Yen, a decline of 1.3%.
Dubai Debt Worries Spur Investors to Safe-Haven Yen
After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.