By: Barbara Zigah
The trend of risk aversion continues in Asian trading today, with investors opting instead for the safe-haven Japanese Yen, which saw broad gains. As reported at 1:24 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Japanese Yen rose .5% versus the U.S. Dollar, to trade at 89.15 Yen, the highest level in nearly 6 weeks. Against the single currency Euro, the Yen rose .4% to trade at 125.60 Yen; at one point in the day’s trading it had struck 125.42 Yen, a new 9-month peak. One trader in Japan commented that, with several key factors still at work, the market will continue to be reluctant to take on risk; those factors include China’s stance on excessive lending policies by some banks, and the uncertainty of the reappointment of the U.S. Federal Reserve system chairman, Ben Bernanke. The nervous environment is prompting speculators to pare down some of their long positions in high-yielding currencies.
Today, U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver the State of the Union Address to the American public. Market players are keen to hear whether or not he reiterates his earlier comments about increasing bank regulation to curtail risky lending, which will likely spur investors to reduce their positions in higher-risk assets to an even greater extent.
Japanese Yen gains broadly on Investor Risk Aversion
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.