By: Barbara Zigah
The Japanese Yen saw slight gains against the common currency Euro and the U.S. Dollar in Asian trading today as weaker equity markets in the region prompted hedge fund operators as well as short-term market players to buy into the Japanese Yen. Investors are expecting the Yen to appreciate later in the day given this weekend’s meeting in Toronto, Canada of both the G8 and the G20; leaders are expected to discuss, among other things, regulations for the global financial sector and fiscal austerity measures. One analyst in Tokyo commented that the G20 would probably not yield any definitive plans for regulating the financial sector, but the discussion would at the very least cause wariness among investors.
As reported at 2:50 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, trading against the U.S. Dollar, the Japanese Yen edged up to 89.46 Yen, off slightly from the 89.49 Yen struck during Thursday’s late trading in New York trading. Versus the Euro, the Yen traded at 110.14 Yen, gaining from 110.28 Yen in New York. In early afternoon trading Asian equity markets, including the Nikkei which set the trend for the others, were down 2.08%. Market players believe that the U.S. Dollar may fall as low as 88.50 Yen, while the Euro could slip to 109.00 Yen as the weekend approaches.